Gemini
by quiet-heart
Summary: Gibbs and team have their hands full when a murdered Navy JAG lieutenant turns up and she's got a sister who is not only an FBI agent but her identical twin. Occasional guest appearances from JAG.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **First story in a long time. Started watching NCIS and got hooked. Had a daughter in June so I've been a bit busy lately.

**Chapter 1**

It was late at night in Norfolk and fairly quiet for an area frequented by Marines, Army, and Navy personnel alike. However, that may have had to do with the number of LEOs patrolling the area. The general census was get in trouble with the LEOs, get in real trouble with your C.O.

Just before midnight, two muffled shots rent the air before falling silent. Approximately five minutes later a cell phone began to ring, playing _Bad Boys_ by Bob Marley. The owner either didn't or couldn't answer and the phone soon fell silent.

Two hours later the phone rang again and again there was no answer. This happened twice more before falling silent, each time two hours apart.

At approximately 7:30 a.m. a beat cop was making his rounds when he spotted a flash of honey-blonde hair in an alleyway just off a local watering hole. Curious but cautiously, he ventured in to the alley. When he saw the owner of the hair, he sighed heavily and reached for his radio to call in a homicide.

Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard studied the pale face of the blonde woman laying on the ground with two bullet holes staining her shirt. "My dear, you must have been quite the knock-out, with your hair and lovely eyes. Why, I'll bet you had your fair share of admirers," he said as he examined her. "A pity two bullets to your chest had to ruin that."

"What do we got, Duck?" asked Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, of the Major Crimes Response Team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service, crouching down beside the medical examiner.

"Ah, Jethro," Ducky said, by way of greeting. "I'm afraid this poor young woman suffered two shots to the chest, quite possibly at close range."

"Time of death?"

"Liver temp says between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m," Jimmy Palmer, Ducky's assistant, said, removing the liver probe and reading the numbers on the display.

"Think I can narrow it a bit further, Ducky," said Senior Field Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, as he joined them, a simple BlackBerry in one latex-gloved hand.

"Do tell," Ducky said, standing up.

"Lieutenant Suddth received and answered a call at 2304," Tony said. "She didn't answer the next call at 2407, nor any of the ones after that."

"Well, that certainly does narrow it down quite a bit," Ducky conceded.

"Background, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"Lieutenant Debra Suddth, 29, Navy JAG Corps, just got back from a six-month stint on the _USS Eisenhower_, serving as legal advisor to Captain Paul Riker," Tony said. "Lives alone in Norfolk but records say she has family in Washington."

In the background Gibbs could hear Junior Field Agent Timothy "Tim" McGee and Officer Ziva David as they worked, taking photos and making notes.

"Got two shell casings here, boss," Tim called, studying two empty grass cartridges near the mouth of the alley. Beside him, Ziva snapped photos of the cartridges.

"The shells are here but the victim is over there," she noted. "I do not think she was shot where she is now."

Ducky nodded. "The position of the body suggests she was dragged to where she is now, before the blood had time to settle. Someone didn't want her found just yet."

"Cash is missing but credit cards and i.d. are still here," Tony said. "That's how the LEOs identified her before calling us."

"No sign of a struggle or a scuffle on her," Palmer said, looking at Lt. Suddth's hands and face. "I'm thinking she may have been surprised."

"An alley like this, especially at night, would be a good place for an ambush," Ziva said, "especially since there is practically no lighting. Easy hide, easy kill."

"Witnesses?" Gibbs asked.

"None so far," Tony said. "No one heard anything, no one saw anything, but then again that's no surprise." Gibbs looked at him and he jerked his thumb at the building across the street, a bar called _Triton's Watering Hole_. "They like their music a little loud." Gibbs nodded in understanding. "LEOs reported no disturbances in the area; said it was a pretty quiet night."

"So in other words, we have nothing," Gibbs said.

"Looks like it at this point," Tony admitted reluctantly.

Two hours later, back at NCIS they had more than they'd had two hours ago but still not very much to go on. Ducky's initial autopsy of Lt. Suddth revealed she had not been assaulted, sexually or otherwise. There was no skin under her perfectly manicured nails, no bruising on her arms to suggest she'd been grabbed before being shot, not even a blow to the head to suggest she'd been hit before being shot.

"Even her tattoo is unremarkable," Ducky said, pointing out the lieutenant's tattoo of the astrological sign of Gemini, done right above her heart. "Of course, given her situation, it's of no surprise."

"Oh?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, her date of birth is June 1st, smack-dab in the middle of May 22nd to June 21st," Ducky said. "That and the fact that her medical records state she's a twin." Ducky had sent the two bullets he'd recovered up to Abby Sciuto, their forensic specialist, for analysis and comparison; hopefully they would get a hit somewhere.

Back upstairs Tim had some information. He had gone to work on Lt. Suddth's cell while Tony and Ziva had gone over to her apartment to see what, if anything, they could find that might shed some light on why someone had wanted her dead.

"Traced the number on Lt. Suddth's cell, boss," he said. "It belongs to her sister, Julie Suddth. I also accessed her voice mail. Julie called at least four times, starting at 2407 and continuing on every two hours. There's a catch, though."

"There's always a catch," Gibbs said impatiently.

"In this case, the catch is Julie does not appear to be speaking English when she left the messages."

"Play 'em," Gibbs said.

Tim hit a few keys and a clear, female voice began to speak.

"_Liz, problemito? Tacha._"

"_Liz, loco? Urgo tacha._"

"_Mata. Persel worima. Problemita? Urgo tacha urgo!_"

"_Liz, nogo fetur, persel veta worima. Dina tacha NCIS mataee. Tacha._"

"The only word I recognize out of all those messages is NCIS but I'm not even one-hundred percent sure about that," Tim said.

"Doesn't sound like any language I'm familiar with," Gibbs said.

"I've already called for a linguist to come up and see if maybe they might have better luck," Tim said.

"Background on her sister."

"You're going to love this," Tim said, hitting a few keys on his keyboard. He pointed to the plasma and said, "Meet FBI Agent Julie Suddth."

Gibbs turned around to look at the plasma and felt his eyes going wide. There, on the screen, was an exact image of Lt. Suddth, right down to her green eyes, honey blonde hair, and fair skin. As Gibbs watched, Tim pulled up Lt. Suddth's file photo and he studied the two women. Both had their hair pulled back and wore the same serious expression. They even wore the same color lipstick. The only difference between them was their clothing; Lt. Suddth wore her Navy uniform in her picture and Agent Suddth wore a baby blue blouse and soft brown blazer.

"I called her cell and had to leave a message as it was off at the time," Tim said. "Asked her to either call you or come in as soon as possible."

"I was in court at the time," came a very familiar female voice. "But now that I'm here, you can tell me what I can do for you."

Heads snapped around to discover FBI Senior Field Agent Tobias Fornell standing behind them with none other than Agent Julie Suddth next to him, wearing a faintly amused grin. She held up a large cup of coffee and waggled it slightly.

"Need a favor and willing to bribe to get it," she said.

Gibbs looked at her, looked at Fornell, and made a "Follow me" gesture at the senior agent. Curious, Fornell followed Gibbs to a corner where the stairs leading to the second level were.

"What's up, Gibbs?" Fornell asked quietly.

"What is she to you?" Gibbs asked bluntly but quietly.

"A good agent I've got a bit of a soft spot for, not that I'll ever admit it to her, or anyone else for that matter. Girl's got a mouth on her that's worse than DiNozzo's but she's got a good head on her shoulders and a steady aim," Fornell replied just as quietly. Then he threw Gibbs a sheepish grin and said, "That and an old man's fantasy. She's way out of my league but that doesn't mean I can't dream. She's good to Emily when she's at my office and if I thought I had a chance and the time..." He let the sentence trail off, shrugging at Gibbs' grin, before he turned serious and asked, "What's going on?"

Gibbs sighed heavily. "Her sister, Lieutenant Debra Suddth, was murdered around midnight last night in Norfolk; we're investigating."

Fornell's face blanched. "Damn. There goes her favor."

"Favor?"

"Yeah, she was going to ask you to look in to her sister's disappearance. That's why she brought you coffee. Said she tried calling about four times since midnight and a source she contacted said her sister didn't show up to report in at JAG headquarters this morning after a six-month stint at sea," Fornell explained. "Apparently Debra was not the sort of person to just vanish off the radar without one damn good reason and Julie couldn't shake the feeling that something was badly wrong." He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "She's been with us for nearly eight years and I've worked with her before, enough to know she was very close to her sister. Given the fact that they're identical twins, that's no surprise. Any idea what happened?"

"Looks like she was caught by surprise and shot twice in the chest; Abby's still running ballistics," Gibbs said. "Killer tried to make it look like a mugging but in light of Agent Suddth, I'm starting to wonder if the lieutenant's death may or may not have been a case of mistaken identity."

"I can see your point," Fornell admitted. "Damn, this is gonna hit her hard."

"We may have to put her in protective custody, at least until we know more," Gibbs cautioned.

Fornell gave a short bark of laughter. "Good luck with that; Julie is not exactly the patient type nor is she inclined to let anyone protect her. To quote her, she's got a gun, she knows how to use it, and she's not afraid to use it."

"Experience?" Gibbs asked.

"Three years ago, witness to a murder via a gang member. That was a _long _three weeks," Fornell said, chuckling at the memory.

"And Lt. Suddth?"

"Got kicked to a ship for her safety," Fornell said. "Word of advice with regards to Julie; she may be a smartass but don't let that fool you. She cares a lot more than what she lets on and when she's been hurt, her method of survival is to get mouthy and throw jokes around like she's in a boxing ring, the kind of jokes that makes _me_ want to hit her. Shrink figures she doesn't like to be seen as vulnerable."

Gibbs nodded, appreciating the input. "I've got to tell her and I've got questions for her," he warned.

"I understand," Fornell said. "Just, if she starts getting mouthy, don't take it personally."

"I could always do to her what I do to DiNozzo," Gibbs said, shrugging his shoulders.

Fornell grinned. "Now _that_ I would pay to see."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Gibbs and Fornell returned to Gibbs' desk, it was to see that Tony and Ziva had returned from checking out Lt. Suddth's apartment. Apparently Tim had warmed them Julie had not yet been told about her sister because Tony was flirting with Julie while Ziva watched with an amused grin on her face.

"How long have you been an agent?" Tony asked, leaning against his desk.

"Nearly eight years. How long have you been here?" Julie asked.

"Same," Tony said. "Bet you shoot as good as you look," he said, referring to the Glock holstered on her hip. He gave her a charming smile and she grinned.

"My aim is pretty good," she admitted. "But the last guy who said that to me, well, he won't go near me anymore."

"Why not?" Tony asked. "I'd go near you every chance I got."

"Oh, I'm sure you would, but the other guy, he made a bad mistake; he thought blonde and bimbo were the same thing," Julie said.

"What? The cad!" Tony yelped. Behind them, Ziva rolled her eyes, having seen this before. Tim, who was running a case file comparison on the Suddth sisters, just grinned but didn't look up from his computer.

Julie grinned even wider. "That's not what his wife said after I dumped my drink down his shirt." She folded her arms and propped her chin against her hand, pouting slightly. "And it was a good Spanish coffee too, darn it." Then she grinned mischievously and said, "Guess things got too hot for him to handle."

Ziva laughed, Tony winced, and Tim sniggered. Nearby, Fornell winced and Gibbs found his eyebrows going up as Julie continued. "Of course, if you think that's bad, you should have seen what my uncle's third wife did to him after she found out about his affair. I've pulled my fair share of stunts but I've got to admit Aunt Peggy, man did she have a temper."

"What did she do?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Well, it was hot outside one day, real scorcher, y'know?" Julie said. "He was working out in the yard, really busting his butt off and she brings him this nice, cool glass of lemonade, complete with ice cubes. At this point Uncle George doesn't know that Aunt Peggy knows about his little redhead friend with the 38 double-D bust, not yet any way." She started grinning. "Okay, hot day, Uncle George knocks back the lemonade and crunches on the ice cubes, which Aunt Peggy knows he does every time. He thanks her heartily for the drink, she smiles sweetly, and locks the doors to the house without him knowing about it, and waits. Fifteen minutes later, he's running for the house, trying to get to the bathroom." Perfectly straight-faced, Julie said, "It was good lemonade all right; what Aunt Peggy had kinda, sorta forgot to mention was that the ice cubes had been mixed with a heavy-duty tasteless laxative."

"And I thought your fourth wife taking a swing at you with a golf club was bad enough," Fornell said quietly to Gibbs, who grinned, while Ziva and Tim chortled.

"I wouldn't put it past her not to try something like that," Gibbs replied.

"As far as pranks go, I _like_!" Tony said, grinning widely. "Can I have your aunt's phone number?"

"Why didn't she just divorce him?" Tim asked.

"Nah, that would have been merciful, and Aunt Peggy, bless her heart, always had her own version of the Vulcan salute," Julie said.

"The Vulcan salute?" Ziva asked, curiously.

"Ever watch any of the Star Trek stuff?" Julie asked. When Ziva shook her head, she explained. "In the Star Trek universe, Vulcans are a race of highly logical humanoids with pointy ears and raised eyebrows. Their society and culture is developed around the concept of science and logic to the point that they don't consider emotions logical. They also have quite a long life-span. Such as it is, a salute, or a way of saying good-bye is 'Live long and prosper.'"

"What was your aunt's version?" Tony asked.

Again Julie grinned and said, "Live long and suffer."

"And how long have they been married?" Ziva asked.

"Ten years; she hasn't killed him yet, God knows why."

That caused a round of chuckles from the group before Gibbs, deciding it was time to get down to business, cleared his throat.

"Julie, Fornell says you're looking for your sister," he began.

"Yeah," Julie said, turning serious. "I was wondering why you had our pictures up on your screen. What gives?"

_Damn, I hate doing this_, Gibbs thought. "Julie, I'm sorry; we found your sister this morning."

"What do you mean you found her?" Julie asked, coming up to him. "Toby, what's going on?" she asked the senior agent, seeing the look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Julie," was all Fornell could say.

"Some time around midnight last night, your sister was murdered in Norfolk," Gibbs said, trying to be gentle. "Someone put two bullets in her and tried to make it look like a mugging."

The blood in Julie's face drained. "No," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, that's not right. That's not right." She looked at the others and they all looked back at her with the same look of solemness on their faces. "If this is a joke, Toby, it's not funny!" she snapped desperately.

"It's no joke, Julie," Fornell said.

"No, it can't be; she can't be dead," Julie said, near hysteria. "Where is she?" she demanded, going nose to nose with Gibbs, despite the fact that he was a head taller than she was. "Where is my sister?"

"She's in Autopsy with our medical examiner," he said gently.

"Like hell!" she snarled. Before either Fornell or Gibbs could stop her, she took off for the elevator, nearly slapping Gibbs in the face with her pony-tail. She slapped the call button viciously and when the doors didn't open fast enough, she snarled something rude and took off for a door marked 'Stairs', slamming it open.

"Warn Ducky," Gibbs tossed over his shoulder as he and Fornell chased after the younger agent.

"On it, boss!" Tony called back.

Gibbs, hot on Julie's heels, watched as she practically flew down the stairs, apparently knowing exactly where she was going._ For a woman wearing heels, she sure can move, _he thought, referring to her black ankle boots with a two-inch heel. _"_Has she been here before?" he asked Fornell.

"Photographic memory," Fornell shot back. "Habit of hers to study the lay-out of a building when she enters it. Something about making sure she knows where all her exits are in case she has to make a fast escape."

"Smart."

Had the doors to Autopsy been on hinges, Julie would have slammed them open. As it was, they were simple sensor-activated sliding doors that hissed open at her approach. Ducky, having been warned about Julie's impending arrival, stood beside a sheet-covered table, waiting for her.

"Where is my sister?" she demanded.

Behind her, Gibbs nodded once to Ducky, indicating that he was to show the agent where her sister was. He moved to fold back the sheet but before he could do so, Julie moved to the table and gently stopped him. Instead, almost hesitantly, she carefully folded the sheet down to the body's shoulders. Behind them, Fornell quietly joined them, with Jimmy nearby.

Julie's breath hitched, and a shaking hand reached out to touch her twin's face, so identical to hers. "Lizzy," she whimpered. "Lizzy, wake up." Gibbs moved to stand behind her, one gentle hand on her shoulder. Tears began to slide down her face as she begged again. "Lizzy, please wake up. Don't leave me here. Don't leave me, Lizzy, please don't leave me." Stumbling backwards and in to Gibbs, who caught her, she fairly screamed, "This isn't the way it's supposed to be!"

Gibbs gently turned the sobbing woman around, drawing her against him and away from her sister, moving out of Autopsy, while Ducky covered the body back up.

Outside Autopsy, after several long minutes, Julie's sobs eased off to hic-ups and sniffles. Fornell kindly offered her some tissues, which she shyly accepted, blowing her nose. Then she re-entered Autopsy and headed for the sink to splash cool water on her face. Ducky and Palmer had, thankfully, put Lt. Suddth's body away in the cooler. As she dried her face with a paper towel Gibbs handed her, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the holder, which had a mirror-like surface and gave a short laugh.

"Water-proof mascara my ass," she said. "If it's waterproof, why does the damn stuff always run when the waterworks hit?"

"Why do women wear mascara at all?" Gibbs asked, seeing that Julie was trying to regain control of herself by making wisecracks.

"Because it draws attention to our eyes and for those of us not blessed with an ample bust, hey we've got to get your attention somehow." She tossed him a sassy smile and continued. "When it comes to fishing, not all of us are blonde and busty like Pamela Anderson or a walking siren like Marilyn Monroe, so we use a little extra to help things along. Besides, you're not gonna tell me you don't do the same, even if it's just shaving and hitting the gym regularly."

He chuckled in amusement and then grinned even wider when she leaned closer and sniffed near his neck. "Hm, Old Spice. Nice." She grinned.

He snorted with laughter and Ducky chuckled. "How do you know it's Old Spice and not something else?" he asked, playing along.

"Got an ex-boyfriend who wears the stuff in deodorant form and after a round of basketball or a running session, believe me when I say it's noticeable." She smirked. "It's lead to some rather interesting shower sessions."

"Too much information," Gibbs said.

"What? Like it hasn't happened to you?" she shot back.

"I've been married four times; what do you think?" Gibbs replied.

She sniggered and then admitted, "Plus, there's this one guy, a Marine I chase after on a regular basis, he wears the stuff."

"Chase after?" Gibbs asked, putting his arm around Julie's shoulders and leading her out of Autopsy.

"He's a Master Sergeant who likes to run in Rock Creek Park. Sometimes we run together, sometimes I challenge him for coffee, and when I do, sometimes I run, sometimes I chase."

"Who wins?" Fornell asked, following them to the elevator.

She threw him a smirk and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

As the doors hissed shut behind them, Jimmy turned to Ducky and asked, "Do you think she'll be okay? I mean, I know loosing family is hard but I would imagine loosing someone like your twin would be even harder."

Ducky sighed heavily. "Only time will tell, Mr. Palmer, only time will tell."

Gibbs placed Julie in a conference room with Fornell and went to get them some coffee as well as check in with his team.

"Pull up her file, do a background on her," he told them. "Anything at Lt. Suddth's place?"

Tony shook his head. "Neat, tidy, what you might expect of a Navy officer just back from an ocean stint. Gave her hard drive to Abby for examination. Lots of books, like _Richard Sharpe _and _Horatio Hornblower_, and the usual lawyer books."

"Plenty of photos of what we initially thought was her until we found one of her in a Navy dress uniform with her sister in a shirt," Ziva said. "It looks like it may have been taken at the lieutenant's graduation from the Navy academy."

"Boyfriend?" Gibbs asked.

"Nothing to suggest it," Tony said. "Spoke to her landlord; quiet, pays her rent on time, yada yada yada. No major problems, not even with her neighbors."

"What about work?" Gibbs asked.

"If she did, it may be on her hard drive," Ziva said. "It is not in her apartment."

"Her commanding officer was Major General Cresswell, JAG headquarters in Virginia," Tim offered. "While she was on the _Eisenhower_, it was Captain Jack Riker, and the _Eisenhower _is docked in Norfolk for two days."

"Tony, Ziva, talk to the captain," Gibbs said. "As soon as I'm done talking to Julie Suddth, I'll pay the general a visit. McGee..."

"Already running a background check on Agent Suddth but going to do a case comparison, see if maybe the sisters have an enemy in common," McGee said, fingers already flying across the keyboard.

"Wonder if Commander Rabb is still at JAG headquarters," Tony said absently as he and Ziva headed for the elevator to head back to Norfolk.

"Who is Commander Rabb?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Commander Harmon Rabb; Gibbs and I went after him about six years ago for the murder of a Navy JAG lieutenant who was last seen having a rather nasty confrontation with him," Tony said. "Even though there was evidence against the commander, who was also a JAG lawyer, Gibbs' gut said the guy was innocent. Turns out he was right; the murder and the evidence was planted by another officer with a grudge against Rabb. Claimed she was blackmailing him over her pregnancy and that the murder was an accident."

"Funny how a lot of murders are 'accidents'," Ziva noted sourly.

"You too, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

In the conference room Fornell and Julie sat waiting patiently, if one could call the way Julie was fiddling with a pen as being patient. When Gibbs entered with coffee for both Fornell and Julie, she stopped fiddling and accepted the coffee, taking a hefty swallow before setting it down.

"I'm sure you'll understand if I have a few questions for you," Gibbs said.

"I'm expecting them," Julie replied.

"When was the last time you spoke to your sister?" Gibbs asked.

"She called me when she got off the Eisenhower yesterday, around 1500. Said she was going to drop her stuff off at her apartment then go catch up with a few friends before reporting in to Major General Cresswell today," Julie replied. "Just after midnight I woke up with this bad feeling that something was wrong and I tried calling her; there was no answer." She sighed heavily and said, "Now I know why."

"Do you know if your sister had any enemies, anyone with a grudge or who may have wanted her dead?" Gibbs asked.

Julie gave a short bark of laughter. "Gibbs, she was a JAG lawyer; I can think of a lot of people she's pissed off over the years, namely those she's successfully prosecuted. Then there's the other lawyers she's clashed with, and the families of the ones she's prosecuted."

"Her cases?" Gibbs asked.

"From what she told me, they pretty much ran the gauntlet; from murder to theft to jumping ship to just plain stupidness, plus the occasional court martial."

"Boyfriend?" Gibbs asked.

"Not that I know of."

"You?" Gibbs asked.

"I did until about two months ago; Commander Ian Baldwin. Met him through Lizzy," Julie said. "Dated for about four months, broke up two months ago mutually. Saw him a few days ago at his place; was in a bit of a funk and asking for help." She grinned. "Smart boy kept a case of Smirnoff vodka in the fridge even though he hates the stuff."

"You?"

"Yup, and no, I didn't sleep with him."

"I didn't ask."

"Doesn't mean you didn't think it," she countered. "As an investigator, I would have."

He conceded her point. "Anything in particular you're working on?"

"Just a string of robberies stretching across the states, all with similar weapons and M.O.'s," she replied. "There's four of us and we're co-ordinating with various other agencies, including the Texas Rangers and state police. The leader appears to be a regular mastermind, from what we're gathering, with these heists being planned weeks, possibly months in advance."

"Your role?" Gibbs asked.

"Co-ordinating with the the other three agents, Amy Jordan, Jake Zimmer, and Bob Hademen, in running down leads and gathering whatever info the lab techs can give us. Right now Bob and Amy are in Phoenix City and Jake, when I spoke to him this morning, said he was going to rattle a few cages." She scowled briefly and Gibbs caught it.

"You don't look convinced," he said.

"Eh, nothing I can put my finger on, but Jake's been doing a lot of cage rattling lately and the last time he came back from one, he had the very distinct smell of Esteé Lauder's _Beyond Paradise _on him." She smirked. "His wife, Susan, prefers Mary Kay's _Journey_; I have met her and I can tell the difference between the two perfumes." She shrugged. "Nothing I can prove, though."

"But you think Zimmer is catting around again," Fornell said.

"Wouldn't be the first time," she replied. "Don't bother trying to warn him about it; didn't do any good the last time."

"Did you warn him the last time?" Gibbs asked.

"I did and he told me in no uncertain terms to butt out or the next time I needed back up, well, he might be just a tad too busy to respond."

Fornell scowled and Gibbs made a note.

"One thing I've sort of wondered," Fornell said. "I remember you once saying your dad was a cop."

"That's right," Julie said.

"Why didn't you or Debra follow him?" Fornell asked.

"Because we knew if we did, we wouldn't be Debra or Julie Suddth, Washington PD, we'd be Chief Bryan Suddth's daughters. So Lizzy and I struck out on our own. She chose the Navy and JAG, I chose the FBI," Julie explained. "We both wanted to serve but each in our own way."

"The same but different," Gibbs said. "With both of you a chance to prove yourself individually."

"That's right. However, we would occasionally train and study together when certain areas were similar, such as weapons and physical fitness, along with some areas of the law." She smiled in memory. "Lizzy swears the only reason she passed her weapons proficiency was because she and I spent many a weekend together practicing over and over, both assembling and shooting, until I could assemble my own gun with my eyes closed."

"How did she help you?" Gibbs asked.

"By stopping me from totally failing one of my classes on criminal law. It was touch-and-go until she kicked my ass all the way around the library." She laughed at the memory. "I haven't set foot inside that library in almost nine years and I still cringe at the sight of those books of legal tones she has." She snorted with laughter and shook her head, chin in hand. "Jeeze." Then she looked at Gibbs and said, "My turn for a question."

"Okay," he replied.

"How did she die?"

Gibbs sighed heavily. "Two rounds to the chest; possible mugging gone wrong."

She favored him with a pair of steady green eyes. "I hear a _but_ in that sentence. Spill."

Gibbs stared at the younger agent, taking her measure and she stared right back at him. He nodded, satisfied. "But it doesn't look like that."

"What do the bullets say?" she asked.

Just as he was about to answer, his cell went off; it was Abby.

"Could you come up to the lab? I've got something and it's seriously hinky," Abby said.

"We'll be right there," he said. Closing his cell, he looked at the two FBI agents and said, "Abby has something for us."

"Sounds like fun," Julie said. "Lead the way."

As the trio headed for the elevator that would take them to Abby's lab, Julie spoke up. "Something I'm wondering, given the circumstances; could this whole thing be a bad case of mistaken identity? I've pissed off my fair share of people and there's been a few threats against me."

Fornell and Gibbs looked at each other and Gibbs nodded reluctantly. "Forget about going home tonight," Gibbs said. "You're in protective custody until we figure out the answer to that question."

"Drat; there goes my Fuzzy Pajama and Punch 'Em Up weekend," she quipped.

"Fuzzy pajamas I get," Fornell said, "But punch 'em up?"

"What? You guys think you're the only ones who like movies where the guy swings first and asks questions later?" Julie shot back. "Yeesh!"

"I thought women liked chick flicks," Gibbs said.

"You mean like _The Time Traveler's Wife_?" Julie asked. "Nah, although _Kate and Leoplod _was pretty good, but I liked _Van Helsing_ even more." She shot the two men a sassy grin and said, "Of course that may have had to do with Hugh Jackman more than anything."

"Of course," Gibbs said, rolling his eyes as they exited the elevator.

In the lab, Abby Sciuto was pacing restlessly. When she saw Gibbs, she practically jumped him. "Gibbs! We've got a problem, like a really big, really messy, really ugly sorta problem."

"Okay," Gibbs said patiently.

"I found the bullets that killed Lt. Suddth in AFIS," Abby said, not yet noticing Julie and Fornell.

"That's good, right?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, yes and no," Abby said reluctantly. She turned to her computer and typed in a few keys, pulling up a case file. "The bullets match a case where Private First Class Andrew Sorreson was shot to death trying to stop a robbery."

Julie moved to the plasma, where Abby had put the case up, and studied the face of PFC Sorreson. "I remember that case," she said. "It was Private Dwayne Chabner who who did it. Debbie nailed his ass to the floor for that last year."

"He was convicted?" Fornell asked, joining her.

Abby's eyes went wide when she saw Julie but Gibbs quickly signed _twins_ at her and she nodded before signing back, _Does she know?_ Gibbs nodded and Abby winced before continuing. "Convicted and currently at Leavenworth," she said.

"Currently doing time for manslaughter," Julie said. "Which means the gun should be in the evidence vault."

"I called them and they said it was," Abby said reluctantly. "And if you think that's bad, it gets worse." Gibbs looked at her and she continued. "The reason it took so long for me to find a match through AFIS was because there were extra marks on the bullets, marks that could have only come from a silencer."

"A silencer?" Gibbs repeated. "Who uses a silencer in a mugging?"

"Someone who's trying to make a murder look like a mugging," Fornell said grimly. "The question becomes who was the target?"

"I need a list of anyone and everyone you can think of who might want you or your sister dead," Gibb said.

Julie laughed in disbelief. "That's gonna be a long list. How far back do you want me to go?" She turned and looked at him innocently. "I could go back as far as kindergarten if you want."

Gibbs could feel his hand itching.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Don't really know Major General Cresswell very well, so I apologize if he's not quite to character.

**Chapter 4**

Back at the desks, Tim had something for Gibbs.

"Been running a case file comparison," he said, "seeing if maybe the sisters had some names in common. A couple pop up." He tapped a few keys and a face popped up on the plasma. "Suspect number one: Randall Kiley. Along with the DEA and several other agents, Agent Suddth was responsible for bringing down a drug smuggling operation, which Randall Kiley was part of. During the arrest, which Agent Suddth did not do as she was part of a different arresting team, Petty Officer Hugh Kiley, a.k.a. Baby Brother, shows up, punches out a federal agent, resists arrest, and generally creates merry hell. Lt. Suddth was the prosecutor and she sent him to jail for a year, plus dishonorable discharge. Petty Officer Kiley was suspected of having drug ties but nothing was proven."

"And Randall Kiley?" Gibbs asked.

"Currently doing a very long stint for a number of drug-related charges," Tim said. Gibbs nodded. "Next up, Gordie Stewart. Agent Suddth busted him for stealing a general's car from the Norfolk Navy Yard." Tim pulled up Gordie Stewart's file picture on the plasma and continued. "She turned him over to Lt. Suddth, who gave him to the Marines. The letter Gordie Stewart fired off was not nice, generally promising to pay them back when he caught up to them."

"Why him?" Gibbs asked.

"Gang ties," Tim said. "He was a member of the Squali del Diavolos, otherwise known as the Devil Sharks. And they have weapon ties."

"Weapons equals silencers," Fornell pointed out.

"Mouthy little shit," Julie said. "I remember him; should have seen his face when he saw me and Debbie. Thought he was going to piss his pants. That was four years ago though."

"Anyone else?" Gibbs asked.

"Lt. Bernadette Lawrence," Tim said, pulling up the file. "Stationed at JAG headquarters in Virgina, filed a Conduct Unbecoming complaint against Lt. Suddth but Major General Cresswell had it dropped when it was revealed Lt. Lawrence had not seen Lt. Suddth but, in fact, Agent Suddth at a club in Norfolk getting, I quote, cozy with one Commander Ian Baldwin. The complaint said Lt. Suddth was practically crawling in to Commander Baldwin's lap."

"When was this?" Gibbs asked as Julie snorted in disgust.

"Seven months ago, just before Lt. Suddth headed out to sea," Tim said.

"I remember that," Julie said. "That was just before Ian and I started really dating. As for crawling in to Ian's lap, the place was packed and the table was crowded," she said in disgust.

"How did the complaint get dropped?" Fornell asked.

"Me and Debbie pulled a fast one on General Cresswell that gave him a bad case of whiplash." She grinned mischievously.

"I'm afraid to ask," Gibbs said.

"What?" Julie asked innocently. "Not my fault I happen to have a skirt suit that's similar in appearance to Debbie's uniform. All I did was borrow her hat and wear a long coat."

"Uh-oh," Fornell mumbled.

Julie continued, a grin spreading across her face. "We were outside, I walked past him with my head down and hair up, he thought I was Debbie and called out to me, and she replied, right behind him. Poor guy damn near had a heart attack." She shook her head. "Scuttlebutt had it Birdie was not a happy little birdy when she found out the complaint had been dropped. Apparently she didn't believe the whole twin thing; called it a cheap conspiracy in front of Major General Cresswell."

"What did Major General Cresswell say?" Gibbs asked.

"Something to the effect of watching her mouth and remembering her place. She got kicked to the Region Legal Services Office at Norfolk Naval Station, last I heard," Julie said.

"Anyone else?" Gibbs asked.

"At the moment, no," Tim said. "JAG and the FBI tend to have two different jurisdictions when it comes to their cases."

"As much as possible Debbie and I did try to avoid crossing our cases to avoid conflict of interest problems," Julie said. "Wasn't too hard to do, especially as of late, since Debbie had begun picking up ship cruises; this last one was her third one and she mentioned the possibility of a fourth stint in the near future; I don't know why. Guess she liked what she was doing."

"Anyone in particular she mentioned?" Gibbs asked.

"I'd have to think about that," Julie said. "I'll go through my e-mails from her, see if any names pop up."

"Okay, you are staying here with McGee," Gibbs said, grabbing his coat. "You do not leave this building without one of us or letting me know; is that clear?"

"Then somebody had better let my supervisor know what's going on and grab my laptop and bag from my desk," Julie replied.

"I'll take care of that," Fornell said.

"I'm gonna need my nail bag," she said, handing the senior agent a set of keys she unclipped from her key ring.

"The one with the Barbie logo on it?" Fornell asked, apparently familiar with what she was talking about.

"The very same," Julie said.

"I'll find it," Fornell said. "In the mean time, you behave yourself," he said.

"I always behave myself," she replied sweetly, causing Fornell to shake his head in amusement.

"McGee, you go down to the evidence vault and find the gun from this case file," Gibbs said, handing him a Post-It paper with a series of numbers written on it. "Abby says the gun that was used to kill Lt. Suddth should be in the evidence vault already because it belongs to a closed case."

"Find it and bring it back to Abby for comparison," Tim said. "Got it, boss."

"Oh goody! I get to tag along!" Julie said, bouncing on her heels eagerly.

"Nice try; you're with me," Gibbs said, waggling a 'come here' finger at her.

"Still sounds like fun; I enjoyed messing with Biff last time. Hope he's gotten smart about the vodka," she said. "Last time I showed up at his office, all he had was Svedka Clementine vodka; cheap stuff. Told him not to stiff me next time and he promised he wouldn't. Of course, that was when he finally stopped laughing long enough."

_Why do I get the feeling it's going to be a long car ride?_ Gibbs thought sourly.

_JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia_

The first person Gibbs and Julie saw when they exited the elevator on the floor that would take them to Major General Cresswell's office was Commander Bud Roberts. The last time Gibbs had seen Bud was when he had hauled the Navy JAG lawyer to NCIS to try and get access to the DNA database to identify a possible suspect in a murder investigation, a database that was used strictly for the purpose of identifying dead officers. Bud had put his foot down but had given in on signing a search warrant. That had been nearly seven years ago.

_Just after Kate had joined us_, he thought.

"Oy, Bud," Julie called, apparently knowing the commander. Bud's head snapped up and his eyes went a bit wide when he saw Gibbs and Julie but he lowered the file he was studying and waited for them to catch up.

"Julie, Agent Gibbs, what brings you here?" Bud asked politely, looking as if he'd like to be anywhere else but where he was now.

"Is Major General Cresswell in? I need to have a chat with him," Gibbs said.

"I believe so, sir," Bud said. "I'll take you to him."

As they walked, Gibbs asked, "Do you know Lt. Debra Suddth?"

"Lt. Suddth? Yeah, she's a good lawyer; she's sat second chair with me a few times, and she and Julie were at our Christmas party last year." Bud said. "I haven't seen her lately, however, and the general isn't happy about that either." His brow furrowed. "No one can seem to find her and I know you were asking about this morning," he said to Julie.

"Anyone in particular not like her?" Gibbs asked.

"There's Lt. Lawrence but the general census is she doesn't like too many of the women in JAG Corps," Bud said. "She got booted to the RLSO East, last I heard, after she accused Lt. Suddth of Conduct Unbecoming when it turned out it was actually Julie she'd seen. Didn't take that too well." A pretty plump blonde woman approached them, wearing a white Navy office uniform and carrying a bunch of files and Bud snagged her. "Hey, Harriet, have you heard from Debbie lately?"

"No, I haven't," Lt. Commander Harriet Sims-Roberts admitted. "I've been trying to call her but I keep getting voice mail. Hi Julie," she said, apparently recognizing the younger woman. She smiled politely at Gibbs, apparently recognizing the agent. "What brings you here, Agent Gibbs?"

"Just going to have a chat with Major General Cresswell," he said.

"Julie?" Harriet asked, puzzled.

"Chasing after him," she replied, jerking her head towards Gibbs. "Long story."

"Do you know where Debbie is?" Bud asked, worry etching his face.

Julie flashed a look at Gibbs, who nodded briefly. "I do, but until I know more, I can't really say. I'm sorry," she said. Then she changed the subject quickly. "What the heck is that on your uniform?" she asked, referring to a colored splotch on Harriet's uniform.

Harriet glared at Bud and Julie grinned in amusement as Bud all but withered under her glare. "His _son _decided to give me a hug this morning, with grape jelly on his hands, grape jelly that _someone_ forgot to tell me he'd been given for breakfast," Harriet snarked before stalking away.

"She's gonna kill you one day," Julie said to Bud, a grin on her face.

"When you've been married as long as I have, you get used to it after a while," Bud said, shrugging. "Besides, don't all wives threaten murder and mayhem on their husbands at one point or another?"

"It depends," Gibbs said. "My third ex-wife tried to split my skull with a seven-iron."

"Sounds like she missed the tee-off point all together," Julie said, shrugging as she continued towards Major General Cresswell's office, leaving Bud and Gibbs to stare after her, with Gibbs' hand itching again.

"Is she always like this?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"Only when something's really wrong, sir," Bud said. "And if she's making those kind of wisecracks, then something is really bothering her and I've only seen her do that once before."

"When was that?"

"About a year ago; she was dealing with a case involving a child abduction and when they finally got to the little boy, he'd died of starvation," Bud said. "Hit her pretty hard, especially when it was discovered that it was the boy's mother who was the culprit."

"Been there, done that," Gibbs said, old memories surfacing.

Bud stopped Gibbs and asked firmly, "Sir, do you know where Lt. Suddth is? Is that why you're here?"

"Yeah, I know where Lt. Suddth is, Commander, and hopefully it's a better place than here," Gibbs said. And with that, he joined Julie at Major General Cresswell's secretary's desk. "Agent Gibbs, NCIS, to see Major General Cresswell," he told the yeoman.

"With FBI Agent Suddth right behind him," Julie sai.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?" the yeoman asked.

Gibbs sighed heavily and held up his badge. "Do I look like I need an appointment?" he asked sarcastically. Julie held up hers and smiled sweetly.

"One moment sir," was the comeback. The yeoman pushed a button on the phone and spoke. "Sir, Agent Gibbs of NCIS and Agent Suddth of FBI to see you."

"Send 'im in," was the reply. Gibbs opened the door and walked in, Julie right behind him, her long, soft-aqua brocade coat swishing as she undid the velvet tie-sash to reveal her dove-colored suit and purple blouse underneath.

Major General Gordon "Biff" Cresswell was at his desk, working, when they entered, and looked up. "Agent Gibbs, Agent Suddth, what can I do for you?" he asked.

Gibbs shut the door behind Julie and said, "I understand you're looking for Lt. Suddth."

"And if I am?" Cresswell asked, watching as Julie and Gibbs sat down.

"Then you're going to be looking for a long time," Gibbs said. "She was murdered in Norfolk last night."

"Damn," Cresswell said. "I'm sorry to hear that; she was a good officer." He stood up and moved to a cabinet along one wall. "A drink, Agent Suddth?" he asked.

"Only if Agent Gibbs gives the go-ahead; until we know whether or not I was the intended target or Debbie was, I'm under protective custody with Agent Gibbs and his team," Julie said.

"As long as you don't get drunk," Gibbs said in reply.

"Don't tempt me," Julie said sourly.

Cresswell poured a finger of vodka (Grey Goose, Julie noted absently, a good brand), and handed it to her. She accepted it, said, "Bottoms up," and knocked it back in one shot before handing the glass back to Cresswell. "About time you learned what good vodka is," she said, coughing slightly as the alcohol burned it's way down.

"Try a good bourbon next time," Gibbs said.

"What can I do to help your investigation?" Cresswell asked.

"Do you know if anyone had a particular dislike of Lt. Suddth, whether or not she'd received any threats or had cause to believe her life may be in danger?" Gibbs asked.

Cresswell shook his head. "She was a good lawyer; I haven't had any complaints against her, other than a Conduct Unbecoming complaint about seven months ago. That was resolved, or at least I thought it was."

"Lt. Lawrence, if I heard right?" Gibbs asked.

"That's right; claimed she saw Lt. Suddth getting a little too cozy with Commander Ian Baldwin, when it was actually Agent Suddth doing the cozying," Cresswell said. "I booted her ass to Norfolk when she refused to drop the complaint, calling it a conspiracy and all but accusing Lt. Suddth of sleeping around."

"How did she handle that?" Gibbs asked.

"From what Captain Estabrooks was telling me, she was behaving herself," Cresswell said.

"What was Lt. Suddth like?" Gibbs asked.

"A hard worker, a good lawyer, and from what I understand, friends or at least on good terms with the majority of the people she worked with," Cresswell said. "I had no problems with her."

"We're going to need access to her files, see if maybe someone may have had a problem with her," Gibbs warned.

"I'll see to it you get full access," Cresswell promised.

"Suggestion: what about Lt. Commander Roberts and Lt. Sims?" Julie asked. "I'm friends with both of them and they're good people, plus Bud admitted to having worked with Debbie before. As lawyers, especially Bud, they may know what to look for."

"Do you have any cause to suspect either of them?" Cresswell asked Gibbs.

"At the moment I suspect everyone until evidence tells me otherwise," Gibbs said. "However, having dealt with Roberts before, no, I don't suspect him at the moment."

Cresswell nodded. "Lt. Sims might threaten to murder someone, namely her husband, but she's not the kind of person I would see murdering someone without a good reason, such as self-defense."

"In that case, all the help we can get would be appreciated, but I would like to keep Lt. Suddth's death as quiet as possible," Gibbs said. "At least for now."

"Understood," Cresswell said. He pushed a button on his phone and said, "Caine, get Roberts and Sims in my office please."

"Aye aye, sir," came the response.

A moment later a knock came at Cresswell's door and he called for them to enter. Both Bud and Harriet did so, looks of curiosity and concern on their faces.

"Shut the door," Cresswell said. Harriet did so and Cresswell continued. "What I am about to tell you stays in this room until further notice; understood?"

"Aye sir," Harriet said.

"Understood, sir," Bud said.

"Good. Agent Gibbs informs me that Lt. Suddth was murdered in Norfolk last night," Cresswell said. "NCIS is investigating her death and he has asked us for help in going through Lt. Suddth's files to try and determine if anyone may have had a serious grudge against her."

Bud's face blanched and Harriet gasped. "Oh no," she breathed. She looked at Julie sympathetically, who gave her a tight smile, barely hiding the flash of pain and sorrow in her eyes, pain that Gibbs caught before the proverbial shutters came over her eyes.

_You're hiding, Suddth, and it's going to cost you_, Gibbs thought, seeing what the agent was doing.

"What can we do to help, sir?" Bud asked.

"For now, I want you to go through Lt. Suddth's files, see if anything and anyone comes up," Gibbs said, "and let me or my team know." He handed them his card, which they accepted.

"Agent Gibbs has asked that we keep Lt. Suddth's death quiet until he knows more about what happened," Cresswell said.

"A few people have asked where Lt. Suddth is," Bud admitted. "Once they see Julie, they're going to be asking even more, sir."

"As far as you know, she's helping me with an on-going NCIS investigation, endorsed by Major General Cresswell," Gibbs said.

"Which is true, sort of," Julie said.

"General?" Gibbs asked.

Cresswell nodded. "It's a plausible explanation," he said. "I'll go along with it for now."

"What about Gordie Stewart?" Julie asked. "Debbie slapped his ass to the Marines about four years ago and got a real nasty letter from him as a result."

"I'm not sure, but I remember the case," Bud said. "I'll add it to my list of names to check," he promised.

"And Julie?" Harriet asked.

"I get to keep Agent Gibbs company until I'm told otherwise," Julie said. "Not that I object, of course; the view is rather pleasant." She propped her chin in her hand when he glared at her, and smiled. "What? I'm just telling the truth! I can't help it if I happen to like what I see!"

"Julie," Harriet began gently reproachful, apparently having seeing this behavior before and seeing where it could lead.

"Thank you, that will be all," Cresswell said, deciding to cut things off while he could.

Both Bud and Harriet snapped to attention and said, "Aye aye sir." They quickly left the office, but not before Harriet threw Julie a worried look, which Julie didn't see but Gibbs and Cresswell did.

Cresswell turned to Gibbs and said, "I give you my word, you find whoever did this, and you will have the full cooperation of the staff here, as well as any other JAG branch; I will see to it personally."

"Thank you, sir," Gibbs said.

"And you, Agent Suddth," Cresswell said, turning to Julie, a stern look on his face, "behave yourself."

"Pfft, why on earth would I want to do that?" she shot back, a teasing grin on her face.

"Because if you don't, I strongly suspect Agent Gibbs may just decide to throw you in a safe house rather than have you tag along with him," Cresswell said.

Julie smiled brightly and said, "He'd have to catch me first and to be quite honest, I'd enjoy the chase. Just ask Master Sergeant John Burnham.; he's chased after me on more than one occasion and he's a Marine."

"He must not be a very good one if he can't catch you," Cresswell said.

"I didn't say he couldn't catch me," she replied. "I just don't make it easy for him to do so; part of my charm. It's what makes me a good federal agent but a royal pain in the ass to everyone else."

"I feel sorry for you," Cresswell said to Gibbs, very sympathetic.

"She could always get my foot up her ass," Gibbs replied, deadpan. "Then she will have a pain in the ass."

"Please do; I'll be happy to help," Cresswell said.

"What? Just because I nearly gave you a heart attack, you gonna ride my ass over that?" Julie protested mock-indignantly.

"Julie," Cresswell began patiently, "I have a daughter a bit younger than you. I also run this JAG office; do not mess with me."

"General," she began, "you ain't seen nuttin' yet." She smiled sweetly and Gibbs could feel his hand itching again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

On the way back to NCIS Julie was quiet but Gibbs noticed she was fiddling with a stainless steel dog tag on a ball chain necklace. He couldn't see it too well but it looked like there was engraving on the tag and a small purple stone in one corner.

"What's that?" he asked as they pulled up at a stop light.

"Hmm?" she asked, slightly confused.

"The dog tag," he said.

"Oh, this," she said, pulling it out from under her blouse further and showing it to him. "It was a birthday gift from John; kind of my good luck charm. It's got his Marine service number on it with the letter _B_ and he said that if I ever needed help to give that number to anyone at NCIS or in the Marines or JAG and they would find him for me, no matter where he was." She turned it over in her hand and said, "On the other side is a Chinese symbol for strength and faith."

"Where is he now?" Gibbs asked.

"Doing a training exercise in Maryland, as far as I know," she replied. "We've been friends for a while and he got me through a really tough time last year." She whispered quietly, sadly, "I wish he was here right now. I always felt safe with him."

Gibbs made a mental note to have Master Sergeant John Burnham checked out and if he was cleared, then he'd be making a phone call in the near future.

In Norfolk, aboard the _USS Eisenhower_, Tony and Ziva were talking to Captain Jack Riker in his office. He had been polite at first, until he'd learned the purpose of their visit.

"Lt. Suddth was murdered last night; we're investigating her murder," Tony said.

Riker sat back heavily in his chair. "Damn," he said. "I'm sorry to hear that; Lt. Suddth was a damn fine officer, especially for a JAG officer. How's her sister doing?"

"She is under protective custody until we know more about what happened," Ziva said.

"For now we'd like to keep Lt. Suddth's death quiet until we finish our investigation. We'd also like to see her office, please," Tony said.

"Of course," Riker said. He lead the way through the ship and they continued talking as they did.

"Did the lieutenant have any problems while she was here?" Tony asked.

"A few guys got mouthy with her because she was blonde and a lawyer but she managed to put them in her place," Riker said.

"Ah, _Legally Blonde_," Tony said.

"I'm sorry?" Riker asked.

"A movie staring Reese Witherspoon," Tony said. "Blonde sorority queen gets dumped by her boyfriend and she follows him to law school to prove that blonde and stupid aren't the same thing. Manages to look great doing it too."

"Well, Lt. Suddth was a long way from stupid and I would gladly have her back her again," Riker said. "She could be a smartass and she could bring 'em down with the best of 'em but she could also be a good friend."

"Anyone in particular she was friendly with?" Tony asked.

"If she was, she kept it below radar," Riker said, stopping in front of a door marked 'Legal Services,' knocked once, and entered. The office was tidy, aside from a young, dark-skinned man in a Navy uniform. "Petty Officer Vilks, these are Agents DiNozzo and David from NCIS. Please assist them any way you can," Riker said.

"Aye aye, sir," said the petty officer.

"For reasons of our own, we're investigating Lt. Suddth," Tony said once the captain had left.

"Of course, sir," Vilks said. "What can I do to help?"

"How was she? Did anyone have any problems with her? Was there anyone she was particularly friendly with?" Ziva asked as Tony began to poke around the room.

"Not that I know of, ma'am," Vilks said. "She seemed to get along pretty well with most of the staff here, although there were a few sailors who tried to hit on her, mostly because of her hair color. I've never understood that."

"How did she respond to the sailors who hit on her?" Tony asked.

"Smile, remind them she was a JAG lawyer, and she was sure she could find something to write them up on if they didn't get moving," Vilks said. "That was for the really pushy ones. The rest she just laughed off." Vilks thought for a moment then said, "There was one sailor, a Petty Officer Montgomery, who seemed to make Lt. Suddth a bit uncomfortable."

"In what way?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know; he always seemed to be watching her and I noticed it too. Real creepy," Vilks said.

"Full name?" Tony asked, taking out his notepad.

"Petty Officer First Class Steve Montgomery," Vilks said. "Mostly in the engine room."

Tony's cell rang and he moved off to one side. "What do you got, McGeek?" Tony asked, having seen the call display.

"You may want to head to the RLSO East while you're in Norfolk," Tim said. "Lt. Lawrence showed up at the evidence vault two days prior to Lt. Suddth's murder and she had a rather large coat on."

"Anything else?" Tony asked.

"Abby checked the gun that was supposed to be there; it's not the same one at all. She says it's not even the same model, never mind the same gun, a gun that's never been fired. Not only that, but she dusted the box and it's clean, _too_ clean."

"No prints?"

"No prints, nothing. Her prints should at least be on the box, plus Agent Sommers, who was in charge of the original investigation. There's nothing there."

"Someone switched guns and evidence boxes," Tony said.

"And Lt. Lawrence was seen going in to the evidence vault two days prior," Tim said.

"I think we need to have a little chat with the lieutenant," Tony said.

"Her C.O. is Captain Glenn Estabrooks," Tim said. "Have fun."

"Run a name for me while you're at it, probie; Petty Officer First Class Steve Montgomery," Tony said. "Apparently he weirded out Lt. Suddth and another officer while she was here."

"Got it," Tim said.

Tony clipped his cell shut and said, "We need to pay a visit to the RLSO while we're in town," he said to Ziva. "Seems a certain lieutenant was seen where she wasn't supposed to be seen."

Ziva nodded before turning to Vilks. "Where might we find Petty Officer Montgmery?" she asked.

"Unfortunately he's off the ship at the moment; I think he's on leave," Vilks said. "Captain Riker might know."

Captain Riker did indeed know. "He's on leave," Riker said. "Caught him watching Lt. Suddth in a way I wasn't too comfortable with, but it wasn't anything I could really do. He didn't go near her, didn't speak to her, didn't really do or say anything that could be cause for any serious concern."

"But he still made you nervous," Ziva said.

"It was like he was watching her the way one might watch a bug that's fascinating," Riker said. "Set the hairs on the back of my neck going."

As Tony and Ziva drove to the RLSO East office, they talked.

"Lt. Suddth seems like a normal, hard-working Navy officer," Ziva said.

"Well, someone wanted her dead," Tony said.

"Or her sister," Ziva said.

"Or her sister," Tony repeated.

"Have you ever encountered a situation like this, with identical twins?" she asked curiously.

"Not as a case, no. Knew a pair while I was on spring break in college once." He whistled. "Talk about hot!" He grinned, remembering. "It was double the fun... until I got caught." He winced. "Then it was double the trouble."

Ziva sniggered. "Something I do not understand; why is Agent Suddth making wisecracks and jokes? She just lost her twin sister and may or may not have been the original target. It is making her look like a suspect."

Tony shrugged. "Everyone grieves in their own way. Don't forget, Agent Suddth is an experienced FBI agent; a babe, sure, but an agent. Which means she's learned how to hide her real emotions. Could be she's not ready to grieve yet, or doesn't want to show that she's hurting. Some people hide, some get angry, and some people make jokes."

"So it is a coping method," she said.

"And it's good up to a certain point. Then it backfires," he said, looking pointedly at Ziva, which she chose to ignore.

At the RLSO East, they were quickly brought to Captain Estabrook.

"What can I do for you?" he asked as they sat down.

"We're investigating the murder of Lt. Debra Suddth," Tony said. "Do you know her?"

Estabrook shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that but can't say I do."

"What about Lt. Lawrence?" Ziva asked. "Apparently she was sent here after a complaint towards Lt. Suddth did not go her way."

"Lt. Lawrence I know," Estabrooks said. "So far I haven't had any complaints about her. She does her job without me riding her six about it but I don't know much about her personal life. Why are you investigating her?"

"She was seen in the evidence locker at NCIS two days ago," Tony said, "and now we have a gun missing that's in connection with a current murder case."

"And you think she may have had something to do with this?" Estabrooks asked, concern etching his face.

"She did have a complaint against Lt. Suddth, a Conduct Unbecoming complaint that was dropped by Major General Cresswell," Tony said. "Scuttlebutt says she didn't take that too well."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Estabrooks said. "She behaves herself and I haven't actually seen or heard anything but I've heard whisperers that suggest she doesn't get along too well with the other female officers here."

"Any idea why?" Ziva asked.

"Ambitious, maybe. I don't know, but as long as it doesn't negatively impact her work, I'm not too concerned about it," Estabrooks said.

"Did you know she was in Washington two days ago, at NCIS's evidence vault?" Tony asked.

"Two days ago she had the day off," Estabrooks said, a frown crossing his face.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"It was the weekend," Estabrooks said. "I was under the impression she had family in Washington but I didn't know she'd gone to NCIS. Are you sure about this?"

"We have video log showing her there," Tony said.

"Hmm, as far as I know, there should be no reason for her to be at the evidence vault," Estabrooks said. "Was anything taken?"

"A weapon from a prior murder case was switched with a clean weapon and we believed the gun from the old murder case was used to murder Lt. Suddth. The old case is closed but we're checking to see who recently accessed the case," Tony said. "What is Lt. Lawrence currently working on?"

"She _should_ be working on a case involving a seaman jumping ship," Estabrooks said. He hit a button on his phone and said, "Whitham, get Lt. Lawrence in here please."

"_Aye aye sir_," came the voice of his yeoman.

"For now, we want to keep Lt. Suddth's murder quiet," Tony cautioned the captain.

"Understood," Estabrooks said. A moment later there was a knock on the door and he said, "Enter!"

Lt. Lawrence turned out to be a tall woman with brown hair pulled back in a tight bun and wearing glasses. She wasn't all-together bad-looking, Tony thought, but there was something in her eyes that he wasn't so sure he liked when she looked up at him.

_Ten bucks says she's a man-eater_, he thought, watching the cold look Lawrence gave Ziva, who simply smiled politely. _And if the look she's giving Ziva is any indication, a woman-hater too. Of course, Ziva could eat her for lunch and still have room for dessert. Me thinks 'Cruel Intentions' maybe? Or even 'Wild Things'?_

"What can I do for you, sir?" Lawrence asked politely.

"You can explain to me what you were doing at the evidence vault at NCIS two days ago, Lieutenant," Estabrooks said.

"Sir?" Lawrence asked, a suitable look of puzzlement on her face.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Lieutenant," Estabrooks said warningly.

"I apologize, sir," Lawrence said. "I was investigating a cold case and needed to review the evidence, which was at NCIS."

"Which cold case?" Ziva asked.

Borderline sneering at the Mossad agent, Lawrence said, "The murder of Chief Petty Officer James Wehnert."

"That was five years ago, Lieutenant," Tony said.

"That's why it's a cold case, sir," Lawrence said.

"Do you not have enough work to do, Lt. Lawrence?" Estabrooks asked. "Because if you don't, I'm sure I can find something for you to do."

"I have plenty of work, sir; I'm doing this case on my own time," Lawrence replied, not even flinching at the warning in Estabrooks voice.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

Giving her the same cold look she'd given her before, Lawrence replied, "Because cold cases fascinate me and I thought perhaps a fresh eye might help close the case."

"I understand you got booted here because you didn't like the fact that a Conduct Unbecoming complaint against Lt. Debra Suddth got dropped by Major General Cresswell," Tony said. "Why's that?"

"Lt. Suddth got the complaint dropped because she convinced Major General Cresswell that I had seen her identical twin and not her," Lawrence said, scorning the word 'twin'.

"And you do not believe that?" Ziva asked.

"About as much as I believe there are mermaids in the ocean," Lawrence shot back.

"And if Lt. Suddth does have a twin sister?" Tony asked.

"_Puleeze_," Lawrence snapped. "That's a lie and a cheap one at that."

"Lieutenant Lawrence, that's enough!" Estabrooks snapped.

"How do you know? You've never seen Lt. Suddth's sister, have you?" Tony asked Lawrence. When Lawrence just glared at him, he gave her his biggest and brightest smile and said, "I'll bet you didn't know her sister is a federal agent living in Washington. Looks exactly like her, except she carries an FBI badge and a mean-looking Glock on her hip. Kinda got a whole _Sweet Valley High_ thing going, y'know? Maybe even _The Parent Trap_, if you're familiar with that one."

Giving Tony a dirty look, she turned back to the captain and asked, "Is there anything else, sir?"

"Yes; drop your investigation of Chief Petty Officer Wehnert and do not go near the NCIS evidence vault again unless I specifically order you to do so. Is that understood?" Estabrooks said.

"Understood, sir."

Tony smiled at her but it was the smile of a shark and he said, "Expect to hear from us again, Lieutenant."

"Dismissed," Estabrooks said.

Lawrence clicked her heels together and said, "Aye aye sir." And with that, she left the office.

The look Tony and Ziva shared was clear. _That went well._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Back at NCIS, Agent Fornell had kindly dropped off Julie's laptop, bag, and a medium-size pink and black make-up bag with a Barbie silhouette on it. On the way back from JAG Headquarters to NCIS, Julie had written down a series of names in her notepad. Before arriving at NCIS, Gibbs had made a detour at Julie's apartment, giving her time to pack a bag.

"I like to go for a run in the morning, at Rock Creek Park," she told him as she threw what was clearly running gear in a well-worn travel bag.

"That's fine," Gibbs said. "You're not going alone though."

"Not expecting to; I'm hoping John will be back by then."

Gibbs wandered around her apartment, checking it out. "Nice place," he said.

"Thanks," she said, emerging from the bathroom where she had gone to grab some personal items. She went to the fridge and took out a bottle of Smirnoff Black Cherry Twist vodka and stuck it in a reusable black grocery tote before putting in her smaller carry-on tote. She glanced at the kitchen clock and said, "Erica should be coming home soon."

"Erica?" Gibbs asked.

"Erica McIver, seven years old, lives across the hallway from me," she explained. "Good kid but Adam, her father, loves to knock his wife, Anna, around." She shook her head a scowl on her face. "I've tried repeatedly to get Anna to press charges but she never does. Not much I can do except make sure Erica has a safe place to go and try and be a better role model for her." She took a set of keys with a Cinderella key chain charm on it and headed for her desk. As she wrote something on the back of a business card, she continued. "On the weekends, if I'm not working on a case, Erica and I hang out together. We go shopping, hit the park, maybe catch a movie, girl stuff mostly."

"That's good of you."

"That's me trying to save a child from repeating a vicious cycle," she said, going to her door and taking a bright pink scarf and draping on the outside doorknob. "I was planning on taking her shopping this weekend; she needs school supplies and warmer clothes and I was going to max out one of my credit cards for her."

"Not alone," Gibbs said.

"Wasn't planning on it." She headed for her bedroom, just as a knock came at Julie's door and a young girl with brown hair shyly stuck her head in the door.

"Julie?" the girl called, looking at Gibbs a bit hesitantly.

"In the bedroom, kiddo," Julie called back. "Don't worry about the guy in the kitchen; he's harmless. Name is Agent Gibbs of Naval Criminal Investigative Services."

"Okay," Erica said.

Gibbs smiled at the girl and handed her his badge. "Cool," she said after she finished examining it.

"Pizza in the fridge if you're hungry," Julie said.

"Papa John's?" Erica asked eagerly, going to the fridge, apparently familiar with the contents of Julie's fridge.

"Only kind there is," Julie said.

"Yay!"

Julie emerged from her bedroom a moment later, now wearing pencil-style jeans, a long-sleeved and pink Garfield tee-shirt with the words "Ask Me If I Care" and her gun on her hip. When Erica, in the process of chowing down on a reheated pepperoni, green pepper, pineapple, and extra cheese pizza (which Gibbs had snitched a slice from, since he was starving), saw the gun, she froze. "Julie, is everything okay?" she asked.

Julie smiled gently and went to the girl, putting her arms around her. "I want you to listen to me, okay? I am fine but I have to go away for a while and I don't know when I'll be back. However, on Friday night, I want you to call me, okay? Because on Saturday, come hell or high water, you and I are going shopping for school stuff. Depending on what happens, it may not be just you and me; I may be with another agent, possibly Gibbs or someone else from NCIS."

Erica nodded. "But what if something bad happens? What if you don't come back at all? How will I know?"

"I'll make sure you know, I promise," Julie said. "Agent Gibbs will tell you and he'll give you the password so you'll know I sent him, okay?"

"Promise?" Erica demanded.

"Pinky promise," Julie said, holding up her right pinky finger. Erica hooked her own right pinky finger with Julie's and they shook. "You got your code book with you?" she asked.

Erica jumped down and ran to her backpack, a nice but worn Disney Princess bag, and pulled out an equally worn hard-cover journal with butterflies on it. She handed this to Julie, who took a pen from the counter and flipped it to a section in the book and began writing.

"Code name for NCIS is Washington. If you have to, take a cab and ask the driver to take you to NCIS at the Washington Naval Yard. I'm going to be there for a while. If I'm not there, you ask for Agent Gibbs and he'll do his best to help you," Julie said. "Otherwise, you call me on my cell on Friday night and I'll see you on Saturday." She went over to her desk and picked up the keys and card, which she gave to Erica. "These are the keys to my apartment and my mail box. You are welcome to say here for as long as you want and if you would check my mail for me, it would be a big help." Erica nodded eagerly. "This card has my computer password. If you need me, call me. Otherwise, have fun with the computer but be careful."

Deciding to help, Gibbs took out a business card of his own and wrote down his cell number. "If you can't reach her, call me," he said.

Erica nodded shyly.

"I have to go, okay?" Julie said. "I'll be waiting to hear from you on Friday night."

Once in the car, Julie said, "The password is 'Joey says hello from Quantico.' It's based on Frank and Joe Hardy, with me being Joe Hardy because of my blonde hair. We read the books together."

Gibbs nodded. "_The Hardy Boys_; I remember them. Why not Nancy Drew?"

"She has reddish-blonde hair."

"Good point."

"I'm waiting for Adam to try and take a swing at me one day," she admitted. "In fact, I'm hoping he will, just so I can bust him for assaulting a federal officer, a charge he won't be able to walk away from."

"That happens, you call me."

"Before or after?"

He just looked at her and she smiled.

Once back at NCIS and seated at a desk, Julie got out her legal pad and transfered the names from her notepad to the legal pad and handed the paper to Gibbs. Abby was there with the final toxicology report and computer report for Gibbs.

"Lt. Suddth's hard drive was clean, no hidden files, no secret e-mail accounts, _nada_," Abby said. "Same with her blood work. No drugs, very low alcohol content, nothing hinky at all. Just a clean, honest-living Navy lieutenant."

"Would it help if I went through those e-mails?" Julie asked. "Maybe I might see something that might tell us who or why someone would have a grievance against Debbie."

"You have the password?" Gibbs asked.

"Do you drink coffee like there's no tomorrow?" Julie shot back, hauling out her laptop and turning it on.

Gibbs chose to ignore that. Instead, he turned his attention to the list she had given him. Most of the names were criminals she had caught and convicted, as noted by the notes beside the names, except for the last few near the bottom, which didn't have notes. "Helen Renzenbrink?" he asked, reading the name off the list.

"Duct-tapped her chihuahua, Muffy, to the porch ceiling when we were seven or eight. Nasty little bugger," Julie said blandly from her spot at the spare desk, chin propped in her hand, elbow on the desk. "Destroyed my favorite doll and Mrs. Renzenbrink claimed it was my fault for playing too rough with her Muffy dear. Of course, after Debbie and I used half a roll of duct-tape on him, he never went near us again," she continued, even as Abby snorted with laughter. Gibbs stared at her, eyes a bit wide, Fornell and Tim right alongside him. "Boy, was Dad ever mad."

"How did Mrs. Renzenbrink get Muffy down?" Abby asked, grinning widely.

"I'm not sure, but the next time I saw that darn dog, he had nice wide strips of fur missing; he was a long-haired chihuahua and I think the only way Mrs. Renzenbrink got Muffy down was by cutting the duct-tape off, which meant she had to cut his fur." Julie grinned. "Don't think Mrs. Renzenbrink ever forgave us for that, especially not when practically every time someone saw Muffy, they'd start laughing."

"Enrico Raftery?" Gibbs asked.

"Local neighborhood bully," Julie said. "Amazing what horse liniment in a boy's underwear will do, especially when he's sweating heavily." Fornell folded his arms and put his head in his hand while Tim winced, Abby laughted, and Gibbs' eyebrows went higher. "I was ten at the time. He always swore he'd get back at me and Debbie."

"Sissy Poirier?" Gibbs asked.

"High school cheerleader with a major attitude problem," Julie said. "Wheat-blonde hair, almost Marilyn Monroe blonde. Took her a week to get the red food coloring out of her hair after I spiked her locker shampoo with it." Abby, who was leaning against the desk, nearly fell off laughing.

"Why?" Fornell asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Humiliated Debbie in front of the football team she was trying to photograph for the school newspaper," Julie said, a shark-like smile coming across her face. "She also screwed around with my then-boyfriend at the time."

"Amanda Duggan?" Gibbs asked, not so sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Uncle George's second wife. Nasty bitch, real stuck-up snooty, falsie madam," Julie said.

"What did you do?" Abby asked, grinning.

"Got in to her suitcase when she and Uncle George were visiting and ran her underwear up the flagpole at the police station," Julie said. "Pretty kinky stuff too."

"I can think of someone I'd like to do that to," Tim said, grinning widely. Fornell just groaned and Gibbs had to fight the urge not to laugh.

"Well, it was a small town," Julie said. "Mind you, the whole town could hear her screaming when she found the garden snake in her and Uncle George's bed that night. Debbie and I were grounded for a month after that but Aunt Amanda never came near us again." She thought for a moment, then said, "Of course, the fact that we used her favorite perfume to destink her runners might have had something to do with it. Think it was eighty-bucks an ounce for that stuff."

"Oh my god!" Abby yelped, laughing.

"You were a pair of hell-raisers, weren't you?" Gibbs asked.

Julie grinned. "That's not what Antonio Urbina called us after we got through with his precious 1974 apple red Mustang."

"Uh-oh," Fornell mumbled.

"Well, he shouldn't have cheated on me in college!" Julie protested indignantly. Then she grinned. "Corn syrup in the carburetor, amazing what that does."

"You didn't," Gibbs said, cringing at the mental image.

"Well, it was either corn syrup and the carburetor or salt and the radiator," Julie said. "Come to think of it, I think we did both."

"Jacob Cariou?" Fornell asked, reading over Gibbs' shoulder.

"Cousin. Pain in the ass so we made sure he had a pain in the ass; prune brownies," Julie said.

"Ted Nilson?" Fornell asked.

"Ex-boyfriend who cheated on me with Sissy Poirier," Julie said. "Did a Scare-and-Run when he was making out with her in his car at Cooper's Creek, except we scared him so badly he cracked his head against the car roof. Of course, when he tried to get out the area by flooring his car, he had a bit of trouble because we'd hook-and-cabled his back wheel axle to a mighty fine oak tree. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough we posted an enlarged bare-ass baby picture of him at school. Last I heard, he joined the Navy."

"Don't blame him," Fornell mumbled.

"And here I thought the fast one Debbie pulled on Commander Turner was bad," came Lt. Harriet Sims' voice as she joined them, grinning at Julie.

"What did she do?" Abby asked eagerly.

"Sent him a package that contained spring-loaded foam snakes," Julie said. "Scared him so badly he nearly fell out of his chair."

"I'm surprised he didn't murder her," Tim said.

"From what I understand, he saw the humor in it," Julie said.

"After Major General Cresswell finished swearing because when Surgis yelled, he had coffee in his hand," Harriet said.

"Oops," Tim said, wincing.

"What do you got?" Gibbs asked, referring to the files Harriet had tucked under one arm.

"Ten case files Lt. Suddth worked on that might interest you," Harriet said, handing the files over to him. "They go back as far as eighteen months, when she started sitting second or first chair during prosecuting or defending." She tapped a very thin folder and said, "That's a summary of the cases, which includes names, ranks, what the case was, convicted or acquitted, defended or prosecuted, and how long ago."

Gibbs flipped it open and began to read.

"Corporal Donald Goodall, barfight, convicted, defended, sixteen months.

PFC Austin Brownlee, insubordination, convicted, prosecuted, twelve months.

Lt. Commander Darren Eitzen, Conduct Unbecoming, convicted, defended, ten months.

Ensign Issaac Verbeek, racism, convicted, prosecuted, thirteen months.

Seaman Adrianna Vaas, drug possession, convicted, prosecuted, thirteen months.

Lt. Lydia Zygmunt, murder, convicted, prosecuted second chair, nine months.

Petty Officer Third Class Sibyl Kueber, theft, convicted, prosecuted, eight months.

Private Chad Gillis, Conduct Unbecoming, acquitted, prosecuted, eight and a half months.

Seaman Peggy Mokry, DUI, convicted, defended, nine months.

Brent and Donaleen Clayton, parents of Lance Corporal Paul Clayton, disobeying orders, convicted, defended, seven months."

"Quite the list," he said, handing the files over to Tim.

"The rest of the details are in the case files," Harriet said. She went over to Julie and handed her what looked like a plastic cake box. "Just in case you get hungry," she said.

Curious, Julie lifted the lid off the box and yelped in delight. "Lemon meringue! Scratch?"

"Only way to make it," Harriet said, smiling. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked softly.

Julie grinned but Gibbs could see it was a grin that didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be fine; not so sure about whoever it is I wind up staying with tonight while I'm under protective custody."

"Behave, Julie," Harriet said patiently. Julie just smiled at her. She turned to Gibbs and said, "Let me know if you need anything else."

"A straitjacket before very long," Gibbs muttered.

Harriet leaned closer and whispered, "I've got one at my place if you need it; try raising four kids, two of whom are twins, and a husband who's a JAG lawyer, and tell me you're going to stay fairly sane."

"Good point. I'll keep it in mind."

"You survive this without killing her and I'll bring you a lemon meringue of your own," Harriet said.

"I'll take a bottle of bourbon instead," Gibbs said.

"Make that two," Fornell muttered. Julie just grinned at them.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thanks for the kind reviews. I'm trying to place this before the season six finale and eagerly counting down the days to the season seven opener. Can anyone guess the answer to Julie's riddle?

**Chapter 7**

While Tony, Ziva, and Tim ran background checks on the long list of suspects, Gibbs took Julie home to his place. After Harriet had left, Julie had, blessedly, gone quiet but not still. Instead, she had begun working her way through Lt. Suddth's e-mails, printing off various e-mails and highlighting certain phrases that caught her attention. By the time Gibbs called it a night two hours later, she had a dozen pages of e-mails and was only half-way done in her opinion.

"You need to get some rest," he pointed out. "You've had a rough day and I need you to keep a clear head."

"Fine, just keep the Smirnoff away from me," she said.

At Gibbs' house in his basement, he worked on his boat and she cleaned her weapons, both her service and her back-up, a nice Glock 27, which was the same caliber as her service weapon, a Glock 23; both were .40mm. He had bourbon and she had her vodka. As they drank and worked, they talked.

"There are only four things that have ever really been different between me and Debbie," Julie said. "If you can figure it out, I'll behave myself."

"Why don't I just handcuff you to a chair?" Gibbs asked.

"Because there's no guarantee I'd stay there," she shot back. "You want the riddle or not?"

"I hate riddles."

"Then you'll love this one."

He glared but gestured for her to continue.

"One is a title, two is a touch, three is a life-saver, and four is the heart of the matter."

Gibbs thought about that, turning it over in his mind. "Title," he said. "Debbie was a lieutenant with the Navy, so her _title _was _Lieutenant_. You're a federal agent with the FBI, so your title is _Special Agent_."

Julie nodded. "One down, three to go. Not bad for starters."

"Do I get a hint about the other three?"

"Only one; you leave it behind every time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She smirked and took a swig of vodka. "Do your research, buster; you'll find the answers there." She cleaned her weapon in silence for a moment then said, "Question: is John cleared?"

"You mean Master Sergeant John Burnham?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, he's cleared for now."

"So, if he shows up tomorrow at Rock Creek Park, can I tell him what's going on?"

"You can tell him your sister was murdered but don't brief him on the investigation," Gibbs said. "Tell him we want people to think Lt. Suddth is still alive for now."

"Okay," Julie said.

That night Gibbs could hear Julie tossing and turning, unable to sleep, or if she did, not peacefully. When he checked in on her the next morning, she had dark circles under her eyes, evidence of her restless night. When he offered her fresh coffee, she didn't drink it so much as she gulped it down.

"Morning coffee person?" he asked, sipping his own coffee.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she said. She was dressed in a bright pink Nike racerback tank, black running capris, socks, and had her hair in a pony tail. She had placed a bright yellow and black fleece vest on the kitchen table chair and a running pouch with a waterbottle attached to it on the counter. Her service weapon was attached to the pouch and she had also placed her back-up weapon in the pouch, intending to loan it to John if he was there. A purple mesh street-style hat with an angled brim sat next to the pouch.

Gibbs had elected to wear shorts and a tank top with a windbreaker to conceal his own weapon. The plan was if Master Sergeant John Burnham showed up, he would run behind Julie and John, allowing them some privacy and at the same time keeping an eye on her and their surroundings. His gut was saying something bad was going to happen and he wanted to be prepared.

At Rock Creek Park Julie spotted a familiar-looking battered pick-up truck. Her heart leaped and she felt a grin coming to her face.

Gibbs noticed and he grinned to himself. His background check on John Burnham had not revealed anything suspicious. The Master Sergeant was a decorated, honest, respected, and hard-working Marine who had done several tours and had been in Maryland at the time of Lt. Suddth's murder. Scuttlebutt said he wasn't seeing anyone publicly but did seem to be involved with someone, which was a contradiction in terms. If anyone knew who the mysterious person was, they weren't saying or Burnham wasn't saying. Scuttlebutt also had it that a woman who matched Julie Suddth's description had stayed with Burnham for a while at Quantico last year for reasons unknown and had been seen wrestling with him at the base gym around the same time. Gibbs was beginning to suspect it had something to do with the child abduction case Roberts had mentioned to him yesterday.

A tall, well-built man wearing an olive green tank shirt and gray cut-off sweat shorts was stretching but looked up when he saw the car pull up. Curiosity etched his face but then it lit up when he saw Julie emerge from the car.

"John!" Julie called eagerly.

"Hey yourself," John said coming over to them and returning Julie's exuberant hug. "What's going on?" he asked, indicating Gibbs.

"This is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS," Julie explained. "John, someone shot and killed Debbie yesterday night around midnight, just after she got back from the _Eisenhower _at Norfolk."

"What? Oh my god," John yelped. "Any idea who?"

"Not at the moment, sergeant," Gibbs said.

"The problem NCIS has is me," Julie said. "They don't know if Debbie was the intended target or if I was."

"Are you under protective custody?" John asked.

"Until we know more, yes," Gibbs said.

"Damn," John said, raking a hand across his clean-shaven jaw.

Julie took out her back-up weapon and handed it to him. "Don't know if you have yours on you but here's mine. It's got ten rounds in it."

John nodded and tucked the weapon at his back. "What about you?" he asked.

Julie revealed hers and so did Gibbs, hidden under his dark blue windbreaker. "You two go ahead; I'll be behind you," he said. "No chasing today, Julie," he warned the federal agent, who gave a mock pout but grinned before starting down the road at an easy pace. As they ran, Gibbs got out his cell and checked in with his team.

"_DiNozzo_," Tony said upon answer.

"Yeah, Gibbs. Update," he said.

"_Working our way though the lists of names, boss. So far we have at least five people of interest that we plan to check out in person_," Tony said.

"And the rest?"

"_Either dead, in jail, or no where near Norfolk at the time of the murder_," Tony said.

"Alright, keep on it," Gibbs said.

"_One thing, boss; someone named Gloria Lindstrom has left several frantic-sounding messages in Lt. Suddth's voicemail,_" Tony said.

"And?"

"_And she's a seaman Lt. Suddth defended against theft charges earlier last year. Swiped a general's wallet_," Tony said.

Gibbs grunted. "Well, at least she went for the good stuff," he said.

"_Lt. Suddth apparently managed to straighten the lady out and she's been behaving herself ever since_," Tony said, barely keeping the snicker out of his voice at Gibbs' comment.

"What are the messages?"

"_Basically begging the lieutenant to call her on her cell as soon as possible. Didn't say what about. And boss?_"

"Yeah?"

"_Seaman Lindstrom has gang ties; several members of her family belong to the Black Aces_," Tony reported.

"Where is she now?"

"_She should be on the _Missouri_, which docked two days ago for a week-long stay_," Tony reported.

"Find her, bring her in, and see what the problem is," Gibbs said.

"_On it, boss._"

Up ahead, John and Julie talked quietly.

"How are you holding?" he asked.

She shrugged. "About as well as can be expected," she replied. "Trying to stay away from the vodka, or at least keep it in moderation."

"How much did you have last night?" he asked.

"Couple of shots, left about two-thirds of the bottle," she replied.

"Was it good?"

"Black Cherry Smirnoff Twist," she said.

"Good stuff," he said, familiar with Julie's favorite poison. "How come you didn't call me?"

"I wanted to," she admitted. "But I didn't want to drag you away from your training exercise. Besides, I figured I'd get lucky and you'd show up here. Looks like I was right."

John nodded. "Let me talk to my C.O., see if I can't get you placed in protective custody at the base," he offered.

"Talk to Gibbs; he's in charge of the investigation," she said. "Might be a good idea, though, because I strongly suspect he's going to try and kill me before very long."

John grinned at her. "Are you being your usual sweet, charming self again?" he asked.

"I always am!" she yelped indignantly. "Although I thought his forensic specialist, Abby, was going to fall of the desk laughing when he was asking about some of the names on my potential suspect list."

John laughed and Julie found herself relaxing a bit. Funny how things always seemed a bit better whenever she was around John; he always seemed to make the world look not so bad after all.

Then it happened. Gibbs spotted the dark-colored car before they did and watched in horror as a tinted window rolled down, exposing the barrel of an automatic weapon.

When Gibbs saw the flash of of the weapon's muzzle, he yelled, "Get down!" and dove for the nearest outcropping, in this case, a bunch of thick trees. Trees and ground exploded as bullets chewed in to the trees and surrounding area.

He saw John slam in to Julie and practically force her into the ground. The car passed and Gibbs, gun already out, popped out, firing.

"Get down!" Gibbs suddenly yelled and Julie found herself being tackled, hard, by John. They slammed into the ground as bullets struck nearby trees, spraying bark and wood splinters. Julie yelped involuntarily but was already reaching for her gun.

Julie struggled out from under John, despite his protests, and scrambled for the nearest tree.

"Julie, keep your damn head down!" John barked frantically, his own weapon also out.

The second the shooting stopped was the second Julie popped out, firing her own gun at the car, a navy-colored compact. A windshield shattered and she thought she heard someone yelp.

"Down hill!" Julie yelled to Gibbs, taking off through the woods. "The road loops down! We can catch 'em on the back loop!"

"Julie, god damnit!" John yelled, taking off after her. Julie ignored him, focusing on getting down the steep,tree-covered hill without breaking her ankle or leg and without losing her gun.

At the bottom of the hill, she leaped, rolled, and came up shooting at the retreating car. Gibbs joined her a second later, not familiar with the terrain as she was, with John right beside him, also popping off rounds. Someone yelled again and she grinned in satisfaction. Then the car was too far away for her to hit satisfactorily so she stopped.

"Did anybody even get a plate?" Gibbs snapped once he stopped shooting.

"Plate was covered in mud," Julie said, breathing hard, holding her arm where she had scrapped it hitting the ground.

"Heard you yell, hit the ground," John said, shaking his head, hands on his hips, also breathing hard. Sweat had soaked his shirt and Julie's nose caught his scent, getting her attention and unintentionally arousing her.

"You mean me," Julie shot back, removing her gun clip and checking it before slapping it back in. _Behave yourself_, she told herself firmly. _John is a friend, nothing more, and right now you need a friend more than you do a nooky session._

"I should have knocked you out, you crazy fool!" John snapped, not sure if he wanted to kiss her or deck her. "Are you out of your mind?"

Instead of answering John, Julie turned to Gibbs and snapped, gesturing in the direction of the long-gone car, "What question does _that _answer?"

"It doesn't," Gibbs said, already getting out his cell and calling his team. _It just created more questions,_ he thought. _I hope to hell we can get them answered before Suddth winds up dead._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"You are going to NCIS and you are staying there until I tell you otherwise," Gibbs snapped at Julie as the local police converged on them, along with the FBI and his team.

"Understood," Julie said. "I need a shower and clean clothes though," she said.

"My place, and then you get your ass to NCIS and stay there," Gibbs snapped. He turned to John and hauled him out of earshot of Julie. "If I talk to your C.O., are you willing to take Suddth back to Quantico and put her under protective custody?" he asked.

"More than," John said. "Just say when and I'll make the arrangements."

"I'll call you," Gibbs said.

Tony approached them and asked, "Boss, you okay?"

"I'm fine but I want the bastard who shot at us," Gibbs snapped.

"Already got a BOLO out for the vehicle," Tony said. "Think you hit anyone?"

"I sure as hell hope so," Gibbs said.

"Some good news; we found Seaman Lindstrom and she's on her way to NCIS."

"Good. It's about damn time we started getting some answers around here!" Gibbs snapped.

"He is not happy," Ziva commented to Tim, snapping photos of the trees where the automatic weapon had chewed the trees. Tim was collecting shell casings and bullets where he could in the hope that Abby might be able to match them to something.

"Gibbs hates anyone taking a shot at him and not sticking around long enough for him to return the favor," Tim said.

"I am inclined to agree with him," Ziva said.

"From the sounds of it, though, someone did take a hit," Tim said.

"Do not expect that person to show up at the hospital, however," Ziva said. "Gang members rarely go to the hospital after being shot."

"Yeah, the whole thing about the hospital having to report gunshot injuries," Tim said. "Just makes for easier identification later, especially if they still have the bullet in them."

"True."

An hour later, Gibbs and Julie were back at NCIS, clean and showered. John had gone back to Quantico after being assured that Julie would be okay and that he would be contacted as soon as possible to make arrangements for Julie to be placed under protective custody at the base.

Now Gibbs stared at the dark-skinned young woman in a Navy Seaman uniform, who squirmed under his stare.

"Why did you call Lt. Suddth?" Gibbs said, opening her file and glancing through it.

"Because I needed to talk to her," Lindstrom said.

"What about?" Gibbs asked.

"What's it to you?" Lindstrom snapped, defiance on her face.

"Gibbs is gonna have his hands full," Tony muttered from behind the observation glass, where he, Tim, Ziva, and Julie were watching the proceedings.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Julie said, having changed into a black and white tweed jacket, double-breasted vest, and slacks, with a lilac-colored french cuff blouse underneath, black cap-toe ankle boots on her feet and her hair in a neat twist at the back of her head.

"I wouldn't," Tim said. "The last time I interrupted his interrogation was the last time."

"I'm not going to interrupt it," Julie said. "I'm going to join it."

"Better warn Gibbs then," Tony said.

"So text him," Julie said, leaving the room.

"Gibbs doesn't use text," Tim said.

"Somebody better tell her that," Ziva said.

"Too late," Tony said as Julie entered the room.

Taking a deep breath, Julie straightened her jacket, drew her shoulders back, and entered the room. Gibbs glared at her as she moved to stand beside him, but she ignored him, folding her arms loosely across her chest.

"Ma'am!" Lindstrom yelped, nearly standing up from her chair. "You're safe!"

"What's going on, Seaman?" Julie asked, gesturing for the younger woman to sit down. "Why the urgent message?"

"Gibbs is gonna kill her," Tim muttered from behind the glass.

"Are we talking about the shooting at Rock Creek Park this morning?" Julie asked.

"Were you there?" Lindstrom asked, worry crossing her face.

"That wasn't me," Julie said, managing to keep a straight face as she lied through her teeth. Lindstrom's face went limp with relief then froze at Julie's next words. "That was my sister. She wasn't hit, but she or the two other people she was with could have been."

"Playing dirty, are we?" Tony asked.

"Looks like it," Ziva said.

"Oh god!" Lindstrom wailed, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Julie is a federal agent, Gloria," Julie continued. "The other guy was a Marine she's friends with, and Agent Gibbs, who happened to be behind her at the time." Lindstrom shot Gibbs a terrified look and he just stared at her coldly. "Understandably, this is a very serious matter. If you know anything, Gloria, about what happened or what's going on, you need to tell us."

Lindstrom stared at Gibbs and Julie, eyes darting back and forth between them, sobbing. "It's my fault, ma'am, all my fault!"

"That's a new one," Tony said.

"How so?" Gibbs asked.

"I was being blackmailed an' I was too damn scared to tell Captain Lee, sir," Lindstrom sobbed.

"Blackmailed how?" Gibbs asked.

"I was told that if I didn't put a round in you, ma'am, my next piss test would come back positive an' someone would see to it that I got kicked out of the Navy!" Lindstrom said.

"Who, Gloria? Who told you that?" Julie asked.

"I don't know, ma'am," Lindstrom said.

"I don't believe you," Gibbs snapped.

"I don't know!" Lindstrom yelled, nearing hysterics. "All I know is I was on my way back to the ship when someone stuck a gun in the back of my head an' shoved me into an alley!"

"Then what?" Julie asked. "Did you see the person?"

"No! All I heard was a voice tell me that I was gonna kill you or I was gonna have a pos on my next piss test!" Lindstrom shot back.

"Why didn't you go to your C.O?" Gibbs asked.

"Why would anyone believe her?" Julie asked. "She got busted for petty thievery and did a little time in the brig. She also has gang ties. I was the defending attorney for her case. I also convinced her to behave herself and stay in the Navy, convincing her it was a better way of life than winding up back on the streets."

"The theft, that was stupid," Lindstrom admitted. "It was supposed to be an initiation rite but I got busted. Lt. Suddth convinced the judge to have me join the Navy, which got me away from the gangs." She gave a wry smile through her tears and said, "I was pretty sore about that an' swiped a General's wallet. Lt. Suddth found out and straightened me out enough that I owed up an' did my time. I owe her a lot."

"How does Julie know about the case?" Tim asked.

"Lt. Suddth probably told her," Tony said.

"And this is how you repay her? By trying to kill her?" Gibbs shot at Lindstrom.

"No! I would never hurt you, ma'am, never!" Lindstrom yelled.

"Well someone certainly tired damn hard!" Gibbs snapped. "You said it was your fault! How?"

"I told Bobby an' he said he'd take care of it!" Lindstrom wailed.

"Oh god," Julie groaned, dropping her head.

"Bobby?" Tim repeated, confused.

"Who?" Gibbs demanded.

"Bobby Soto, a.k.a. Big Bobby, member of the Black Aces," Julie said. "Also her cousin."

"And did Bobby 'take care' of it?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know! I saw 'im last night an' he said I owed him one!" Lindstrom wailed.

"Never a good thing with Bobby Soto," Julie said.

"A gun was stolen from the NCIS evidence vault," Gibbs said, "a gun that was used in a previous closed case."

"I don't know about that," Lindstrom said desperately. "All I know is I was told a gun would be in a box in a booth at Joey's Bar an' if I didn't pick it up, good-bye Navy!"

"You could have tossed the gun," Gibbs said.

Lindstrom shook her head. "I thought about it but then I got a pic on my cell that showed me I was being watched."

"You still got it?" Gibbs asked. Lindstrom nodded and took out her cell. She flipped it open and quickly accessed the picture, showing it to Gibbs and Julie.

"We'll have someone trace it," Gibbs said, taking the cell.

"Then what happened?" Julie asked.

"I called Bobby an' he said he'd take care of it!" Lindstrom cried. "I begged him to ditch the gun but he said why waste a perfectly good gun?"

"What about today?" Julie asked.

"I don't know!" Lindstrom wailed. "All I know is Bobby was braggin' about takin' potshots at you, sayin' you weren't so tough after all!"

"Sure seems to have a lot of 'I don't know's," Ziva remarked.

"How did you find out?" Julie asked.

"Nettie told me," Lindstrom admitted tearfully.

"Who?" Gibbs asked.

"Nettie Sauders," Julie said. "Girlfriend-slash-hooker for the Black Aces."

"We keep in touch," Lindstrom admitted, taking a swipe at her eyes.

"Why the hell did you tell Bobby and not your C.O?" Gibbs demanded.

"Who the hell would believe me?" Lindstrom demanded. "I'm just a seaman who happens to be a thief with gang ties!"

"I would," Julie said, holding up her hand. "And I'm sure if you had given Captain Lee a chance, he would have."

"Bobby said he'd take care of it," Lindstrom sobbed. "I didn't know he'd actually try and kill you!"

"Where is Bobby now?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know, I don't want too know!" Gloria cried. "I don't want any part of this!"

"Too little too late," Tony said.

"Too late for that," Gibbs said coldly.

Julie moved to the table and took out her notepad and a pen, flipping to a blank page. "Gloria," she said gently but firmly, "you do know Bobby's number and his hang outs. Write them down."

"He'll kill me!" Lindstrom cried.

Julie moved to crouch down in front of the crying woman. "No, he won't," she said. "Help me, Gloria, and I will do everything I can to help you." As Gloria sobbed, Julie continued. "I helped you before, I'll help you again, with NCIS and with JAG and the judge and Captain Lee. But Gloria," she said, "you have to help us. Help us catch Bobby and the person who blackmailed you. Help us find the gun and put a stop to this. Help us, and I will help you."

Sobbing, Lindstrom nodded and grabbed the notepad and pen, frantically scribbling down numbers and places. "This is all I know; his cell number and his favorite hangouts, everything."

"Good. You do understand you have to stay here while Agent Gibbs and his team check this out?" Julie asked. Lindstrom nodded, wiping her eyes. "Okay," Julie said, giving Gibbs the notebook and taking the pen. "I'll see to it that you get something to eat and drink in a bit." She straightened up and left the room, Gibbs right behind her.

"Ten bucks says we'll be able to hear Gibbs yelling from the hallway," Tony said.

"That's a sucker bet," Tim said.

"Sucker bet?" Ziva asked, not familiar with the phrase.

"An easy bet," Tim explained. "The outcome is so predictable that anyone who takes the bet is considered a sucker, or easy."

Tony cocked his head, listening. "Thar he blows," he said. Gibbs was yelling, loudly. He cautiously stuck his head out in to the hallway and saw Gibbs practically nose-to-nose with Julie Suddth, who was not back down at all in the fury of his storm.

"What the hell do you think you're pulling at?" Gibbs demanded. "You never, _ever_ interrupt my interrogations!"

"Uh-oh," Tim mumbled, having moved closer to the door where Tony was. Ziva was right behind him, also listening.

Julie didn't back down; instead, she stared right back at him, green eyes icy cold. "I am getting you the answers you need, Agent Gibbs. Now, you may not like how I get them but I will get them. And if that means lying through my front teeth to get those answers, then that's exactly what I will do!" she shot back.

"Feisty," Tony muttered. Tim and Ziva just listened, eyes wide.

"The next time you pull something like this, I will handcuff you to the nearest jail cell until I solve this case," Gibbs snarled.

"Try it, and I'll put you on the floor so fast you'll think you're still standing," Julie shot back, her voice not threatening but promising.

"Wow," Tony said. "When this is all over, can we keep her?"

"Let me explain a little something to you," Julie continued. "Right now, Debbie is dead, I'm not, but I'm also Debbie just as she was me. I also happened to be not just a federal agent but an experienced investigator. You know this as well as I do."

"Do I?" Gibbs snapped.

"You read my file, buster," she shot back. "I think you do. Right now I'm keeping a very tight lid on some very fragile emotions and I will not let those emotions go until I'm good and ready."

"Yeah? And when will that be? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month?" Gibbs shot back. "How long are you going to keep playing two roles? Until it kills you?"

"Death would be a welcome relief from the pain," she shot back, "but not until I get my answers. Debbie is dead, I know that, and there's nothing I can do about it. However, the one thing I can do is find out who killed her and why. After twenty-nine years together, it's the last thing I will ever be able to do for her and I plan to do it well." As Gibbs watched, her eyes lost their iciness and he saw the deep, unrelenting sorrow in them. "From the moment I was conceived, I have never been alone. Even when she was at sea or I was across the states, I was never alone; she was always there, always part of me, and that was just the way it was. Now I have to walk this road alone and quite frankly I'm terrified. Give me this much, at least."

Gibbs stared at her for a long moment, debating with himself and trying to figure out how he would explain this one to Director Vance. Finally, acting on his gut, he held up one finger and said, "You play by my rules."

Julie nodded then said, "Check your text messages next time. I'll call Major General Cresswell and Captain Lee, see what I can work out for Gloria."

"And get me some coffee while you're at it!" Gibbs said as she walked away.

"The day you figure out two, three, and four is the day you get coffee out of me!" she shot back before vanishing around the corner.

"Two, three, and four?" Tony repeated, puzzled.

"A riddle she gave me," Gibbs said, apparently very aware that his team was there. "She said there were only four differences between her and her sister. One was the title, two was the touch, three was a life-saver, and four was the heart of the matter. I figured out what number one was but haven't been able to figure out the other three."

"Did she give you a hint?" Tim asked, coming out in to the hallway.

"Smartass said it was something we always leave behind," Gibbs said. "When I asked for another hint, she said for me to do my research."

"I like riddles," Ziva said, joining the men.

"Good, then you can figure out Suddth's riddle," Gibbs said, tossing Tony Julie's notebook. "Find Bobby Soto and haul him in here, one way or another."

"Will do, boss," Tony said.

"Tim..." Gibbs began.

"Find out who could have access to Seaman Lindstrom's urine test results and who's pulled her file recently," Tim said. "On it, boss."

"What about you?" Ziva asked.

"I'm going to explain to Vance why the hell I'm letting Suddth in on this damn investigation," Gibbs muttered, heading for the director's office.

"Oh boy," Tony muttered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Bobby Soto turned out to have a record with the Norfolk police, allowing Tony to pull up his picture. He was a dark-skinned young man with corn-row braided hair, and several tattoos.

"Looks like Snoop-Dog," Tony said, referring to the arrogant sneer on the young man's face.

"Who?" Ziva asked, not familiar with the name.

"Popular rap artist," Tim said.

"Let's go get him and haul his sorry ass in for Gibbs," Tony said. "Probie, he got a cell?"

"He does and I'm tracking it now," Tim said, fingers already dancing across his keyboard.

Before they left, Tim had traced Bobby Soto's cell usage and given Tony and Ziva an area radius where he seemed to be calling from the most; in an area around Virgina, near the coast.

They were half-way there when Tim called them. Tony put him on speaker.

"_Bobby just used his cell_," Tim said. "_He stayed on the line long enough for me to get a fix on his location_."

"Address, probie," Tony said. Tim rattled off an address and Tony repeated it, allowing Ziva to write it down in her notebook. "Thanks, probie. How's it going with Gibbs and Vance?"

"_I don't know, but so far Agent Suddth is keeping her word and behaving_," Tim said. "_She's going__ through her sister's e-mails and journal. She also called JAG and someone is coming over to see what they can work out for Seaman Lindstrom._"

"Good."

"_Any ideas about that riddle Gibbs asked about?_"

"Not at the moment," Tony said. He glanced at Ziva. "Any ideas?"

"I am wondering if the first one refers to fingerprints," Ziva said. "After all, every time we touch something, we leave something behind; our prints."

"I thought identical twins had identical DNA?" Tony said.

"True, but what about prints?" Ziva asked.

"_I'll ask Abby_," Tim said. "_She could compare prints._"

"Go for it, McGeek," Tony said. He hung up. Near the address Tim had given them, he spotted something. "Oh, lookie, lookie, lookie what we got!"

"I see Bobby Soto," Ziva said.

"Let's play," Tony said, parking the car and getting out. He unstrapped his gun but left it in place, just in case. As he and Ziva ambled over to the group, the six young men, Bobby Soto included, straightened up from their lounging position.

Ziva wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol coming off of them. "Must have been one wild party," she said, looking at all the bottles of beer and liquor scattered around.

"Want to join us?" one young man, sporting several tattoos on his arms and bare chest. He leered at Ziva and waved a bottle at her, clearly very drunk.

"We want to talk to Bobby Soto," Ziva said easily.

"I'll do anything you want, babe," Bobby said, ambling forward.

"Know anything about a Navy lieutenant who was murdered recently?" Tony asked. "A little birdy told us you might have had something to do with that."

"So?" Bobby asked. "If I know, I ain't sayin'."

"Ah, but you're going," Tony said.

"Who are you? Feebs?" one guy snapped, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Services," Tony said, holding up his badge. "And that means what we want, we get."

"And we want Bobby Soto," Ziva said.

Bobby eyed them suspiciously and then suddenly took off. Ziva had been expecting that and the gangbanger didn't get very far before Ziva nailed him viciously. There was a brief scuffle but Ziva won and Bobby was face-down, eating asphalt and swearing viciously. His friends moved in, yelling angrily at the treatment of their friend.

"Ah, ah, ah, now," Tony said, gun out and ready. "Let's not be hasty. Play nice, boys. We just want Bobby Soto."

"He ain't done nuthin'!" one guy yelled angrily.

"That's not what we're hearing," Tony said. "We're hearing how he bragged about taking out a Navy officer and possibly trying to take out a Marine."

"I ain't saying nuttin'!" Bobby yelled.

"You already are," Ziva said, tightening the cuffs on him and hauling him up. "And I'm sure, with the right persuasion, you could say a lot more." She smiled at him sweetly. "Oh! Guess what I just found!" She held up a silver-plated gun by the trigger guard and showed it to Tony.

"That ain't mine!" Bobby yelped, squirming. He yelped again when Ziva applied a pressure-point hold on him.

"Settle down," Ziva said easily.

Tony glanced at the weapon and said, "I'll bet if we give this to our forensic expert, she's going to match this gun to a recent homicide." He leaned close to the gun and sniffed it. "Fired recently." He smiled brightly, flashing his teeth. "Mine, mine, all mine."

"Let's go," Ziva said, hauling Bobby towards their car. "I know someone who would like to talk to you."

"Oh, don't scare the poor boy," Tony said, not meaning it in the slightest. "If you puke in the car, you're cleaning it up... with a toothbrush," he warned Bobby. "As for you fine fellows, behave or the local PD will be having a nice chat with you."

"We ain't scared of them!" the first guy yelled, waving his bottle at them.

"Oh I'm sure you're very brave," Tony said cheerfully. "But did you know they really don't take kindly to suspects of murder investigations, especially when it comes to the armed forces? I mean, it could get real ugly, real fast, and I wouldn't want that, especially not if NCIS joins forces with them." He gave them his biggest and brightest smile. "If Bobby is a good boy, he'll be back by the end of the day. If not, well, there's nothing I can do about that." He shrugged. "Let's go," he said to Ziva, ignoring the glares from the gang members.

"What about the gun?" one guy yelled.

"Ours now," Ziva said.

"Too bad," Tony said.

Back at NCIS, Gibbs spoke to Vance about Julie Suddth.

"Are you sure letting her in on the investigation is a good idea?" Vance asked.

"Evidence says she was nowhere near Norfolk at the time of the shooting and has nothing to gain by having her sister dead," Gibbs said. "If she's with the investigation, my team and I can keep an eye on her and she may be able to provide some insight in to her sister's actions. Plus, push comes to shove, Agent Suddth can be Lt. Suddth. She already did when we were dealing with Seaman Lindstrom; we got answers a lot easier and a lot faster than we would have if Agent Suddth hadn't been there."

"And your gut?" Vance asked, bracing his fingers.

"She may hold the key to solving this investigation," Gibbs said. "So far we're coming up empty. Lt. Suddth had no known enemies except possibly Lt. Lawrence, whom we're still checking, and one other person we're looking in to. Fornell says she's a good agent and so far she's proved useful. If push comes to shove, Master Sergeant John Burnham has offered protective custody over at Quantico."

Vance nodded. "All right. I'm not comfortable with the idea of a victim's family member assisting in an investigation but, as you said, the fact that she's an identical twin may be of help. Has she agreed to play it your way?"

"Yeah, that was the agreement."

Vance nodded again and said, "Keep me appraised."

Gibbs nodded and left the office, deciding to head to Autopsy and see what he could get out of Ducky.

"Ducky, what do you know about identical twins?" Gibbs said as he came in to Autopsy.

Ducky looked up from the piles of paperwork he and Palmer were working on and asked, "In what way, Jethro?"

"Biological, DNA, fingerprints, anything, everything," Gibbs said, pacing the room. "Agent Suddth gave me a riddle and it's been bugging the hell out of me."

"Must be quite the riddle if it's got you so perplexed," Ducky said.

"She said there were four differences between her and Lt. Suddth," Gibbs said. "One was a title, two was a touch, three was a life-saver, and four was the heart of the matter. I figured out what the title part was; Lieutenant and Agent. Debra was in the Navy, Julie is with the FBI."

"Makes sense," Palmer said. "Did Agent Suddth give you a hint?"

"All she said was we always leave it behind," Gibbs said.

"Well," Ducky said, thinking for a minute. "We already know that identical twins share the same DNA."

"But they don't share the same fingerprints!" Palmer said, his face lighting up. When Gibbs and Ducky looked at him, he explained. "I-I knew these twins back in high school, twin jocks on the football team. They were identical but they had different fingerprints; they found that out when one of them got busted for a DUI and the defense tried to say their prints were exactly the same so the cop could not have known which twin it really was." He grinned, continuing. "That's what Agent Suddth meant by the touch; whatever you touch, you always leave your fingerprints behind! I'll bet if Abby checks, she'll find that Agent Suddth and Lt. Suddth have different fingerprints!"

Ducky went over to the intercom video at his desk and pushed a button. "Abby!"

Abby's face appeared on the screen. "_You're on the ai__r, Duckman. What can I do for you?_"

"Just out of curiosity, could you compare Lt. Suddth's fingerprints against that of her sister's, Agent Suddth's?" Ducky asked.

"_Sure thing_," Abby said, hands already moving across her keyboard. "_What's up?_"

"Just want to confirm a theory," Ducky said.

"_That identical twins have the same DNA but different fingerprints?_" Abby asked. "_Sure they do. __Remember that case a while back, where it looked like we had a serial killer but the main suspect had a solid alibi __until Kate found out the suspect had a twin sister?_"

"I remember it," Gibbs said.

"_I checked when they were booked; identical DNA, different fingerprints,_" Abby said. "_Aaaand the same goes for the Suddth twins; identical DNA, different fingerprints._"

"Thanks Abs," Gibbs said. He turned to Ducky. "Two down, two to go."

"You said three is a life-saver and four is the heart of the matter," Ducky said. "Perhaps if I had a look at both Lt. Suddth's medical records and Agent Suddth's medical records, I might find something."

Palmer frowned then headed to the freezer. "I just remembered something; the lieutenant had a tattoo on her chest."

"Yeah, so?" Gibbs asked.

"So, it was right above her heart," Palmer said, pulling out the lieutenant's body from the freezer. "I thought so," he said. "Lt. Suddth has a tattoo of the astrological sign of Gemini right above her heart."

"Perhaps, Jethro, that's what number four refers to," Ducky said. "Gemini is also known as the Twins and Lt. Suddth's is right above her heart, thus, the heart of the matter. You said you didn't know whether or not Lt. Suddth was the intended victim or her sister, who happens to be her twin."

"So what's different with Lt. Suddth and Agent Suddth?" Gibbs asked.

"I suspect we may find the answers in their medical records," Ducky said. "A most intriguing riddle indeed."

"Find the answers, Ducky, so I have a reason to handcuff that little twitch to a chair," Gibbs said, walking out of the room.

"Sounds like he's got his hands full," Palmer said, grinning.

Back at their desks, Tim looked up from his computer when Gibbs joined them. "Boss, we just cleared Petty Officer Montgomery. He was in hospital being treated for an allergy attack at the time of the murder."

"Confirmed?" Gibbs asked.

"Double, triple, and quad," Julie said. "I spoke to a Dr. Radcliffe, who treated Petty Officer Montgomery for an allergic reaction to shellfish. I also spoke to the paramedics who brought him in."

"And I spoke to two of his buddies; same thing. Petty Officer Montgomery was in hospital when the murder happened," Tim said.

"Access to the piss tests on the _Missouri_?" Gibbs asked.

"Someone at the Norfolk legal office did access Seaman Lindstrom's records three days prior to the murder," Julie said. "It was Lt. Lawrence."

"How would she know about the connection to Lt. Suddth?" Gibbs asked.

"Same way we do," Tim said, tapping a few keys and bringing up a record on the plasma for Gibbs. "It's listed." Gibbs read through the record and sure enough, the record stated that Lt. Suddth had defended Seaman Lindstrom against charges of thief.

"I also called Commander Roberts and he knew about the case as well," Julie said. "Seems it was known around the office that Debbie had pretty much taken Gloria under her wing."

"Makes sense that Lt. Lawrence would have known then, too," Tim said.

"Check her cell records," Gibbs said. "Check everything and anything."

"Got it, boss," Tim said. "Oh, and Tony and Ziva are on their way back with Bobby Soto and they have a present for Abby."

"They found the gun?" Gibbs asked.

"They found a gun that matches the description of the missing gun," Tim said. "And Ziva said it was fired recently."

"One other person I think should be checked out," Julie said. "Captain Gordon Stone, currently commanding the _Abraham Lincoln._"

"Why him?" Gibbs asked.

"I think Debbie may have had an affair with him," Julie said. "It's not in any of her e-mails or her on-line journal but there is some strong suggestions that she and the captain were more than just friends."

"Which would have been against regulations," Gibbs said.

"Which means I need Debbie's hard journal," Julie said. "If there was something going on, she would have written it there, same as I do. It's where we keep our most private of all private secrets."

"Check with Abby," Gibbs said. "DiNozzo and Ziva brought a few things back with them from Lt. Suddth's apartment."

"Roger," Julie said, standing up.

"And stay there! McGee, grab you're gear; we're going to pay Lt. Lawrence a visit. I want to know why she was so interested in Lt. Suddths' cases," Gibbs said, grabbing his coat.

"On it boss," Tim said, grabbing his coat and gear. He would run Lt. Lawrence's phone records while Gibbs drove. He grinned at Julie and said, "Have fun with Abby. She might like your nails."

"And number two is your fingerprints," Gibbs said, suddenly remembering his conversation with Ducky and Abby.

"Two down, two to go," Julie said, smiling.

"What do Agent Suddth's nails have to do with anything?" Gibbs asked as they entered the elevator.

"Her nails are what my sister would call works of art," Tim said. "Most women do the basics when it comes to putting nail polish on; clean 'em and slap the polish on. Some go further by putting a bottom coat and a top coat on as well. Apparently Julie goes further than that by polishing the nails themselves to a smooth finish before putting the nail lacquer on. And that's just when she's not bored."

"And if she is?" Gibbs asked.

"An hour for each hand. She does to her nails what you do to your boat."

"Any idea what's in that Barbie pouch Fornell dropped off for her?" Gibbs asked.

"Her customized, highly specialized manicure and pedicure kit, including a six-sided filing block and cuticle oil, plus a dozen nail polish pens and nail gems."

"Nail polish pens?" Gibbs repeated, confused.

"Nail polish, pen-style. Simpler, easier," Tim said.

"And weirder," Gibbs muttered. "Abby is going to love her."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

On the way to Norfolk, Tim went through Lt. Lawrence's cell records.

"Got it, boss. Lt. Lawrence did indeed reach out to Seaman Lindstrom a day before the murder at 2115," Tim said.

"Anything else that connects her to Lt. Suddth?" Gibbs asked.

"She did access Seaman Lindstrom's records," Tim pointed out. "I'm going to check Seaman Lindstrom's records but I'm doubting there'll be any valid reason for Lt. Lawrence for accessing those records."

"Why would Lt. Lawrence go after Lt. Suddth?" Gibbs wondered out-loud.

"Jealousy, maybe? The green-eyed monster can make the most logical person do some pretty stupid things," Tim pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Gibbs said, nodding in agreement, thoughts flashing back to his second ex-wife.

"There's also Commander Baldwin," Tim pointed out. "Remember that complaint that Lt. Lawrence filed against Lt. Suddth? I'm wondering if there's more to that complaint than just lewd behavior. Maybe Lt. Lawrence wanted Commander Baldwin for herself and didn't like the fact that he was paying some serious attention to who she thought was Lt. Suddth."

"And the fact that Lt. Suddth got the complaint dropped could lead to someone wondering what exactly was going on, especially if they didn't believe the fact that one had an identical twin."

"Especially not with the stunt that the Suddth twins pulled on Major General Cresswell," Tim said.

"Oh, that wasn't me, that was my identical twin! Sounds worse than the my dog ate my homework excuse."

"Tried that once, failed miserably in fifth grade," Tim admitted.

"Abby said grade two."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Tim's fingers danced across his laptop. "Accessing Seaman Lindstrom's records. Not seeing anything that would require a visit from JAG in any capacity. Aside from the theft and brig time, Seaman Lindstrom's kept her nose clean."

"So the only connections we have are the fact that Lt. Lawrence went through Seaman Lindstrom's records, in which Lt. Suddth was a defending attorney. Lt. Lawrence also called Seaman Lindstrom's cell."

"But why would someone from the Black Aces be willing to go after a Navy lieutenant?"

"Because she took Seaman Lindstrom away from them; that's not going to sit too well with them. She went to the enemy, so to speak," Tim suggested.

"Makes sense. So Lt. Lawrence forces Seaman Lindstrom to take out Lt. Suddth by threatening to destroy the one thing that mattered to her; the Navy."

"Lt. Lawrence gets rid of a perceived enemy and doesn't get her hands dirty in the process," Tim continued.

"While someone else, Lindstrom, who has gang ties and a previous record, gets the blame. It's not like anyone's going to believe her."

"Especially if it came to light that Lt. Suddth was the defending attorney in a previous case and Seaman Lindstrom wound up doing brig time. I might be inclined to think she was still a bit sore about the brig time and looking for payback."

"But where does the gun come in?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, why was Lt. Lawrence in Washington in the first place?"

"She claims she was investigating a cold case."

"She did access the file," Tim said. "But she also accessed the Sorreson murder case. It can't be a coincidence that it was a case Lt. Suddth worked on as prosecuting attorney."

"What about Gordie Stewart?" Gibbs asked. "Didn't Suddth say he might have a grudge against her sister and that he had gang ties?"

"You mean Private First Class Gordie Stewart?" Tim asked, grinning. "He's been behaving himself so much he's up for promotion to Lance Corporal in the near future and is currently working on his third tour."

"So he was no where near Norfolk when the murder happened?"

"A world away and I spoke to his C.O. He has nothing but praise for Stewart and says, and I quote, he's a young man who's going to go far."

"Another one who found a home with the Marines."

"Looks like it."

Gibbs cell rang and he tossed it to Tim. "McGee," he said.

"_Hey Tim, did I dial the wrong number?_" came Julie's teasing voice.

"No, actually Gibbs is driving."

"_And the horror stories Toby told me about his driving..._" there was a grin in Julie's voice. "_How many of 'em are true?_"

"All of them," Tim said, straight faced, having experienced some more interesting moments of Gibbs' driving. "What's up?"

"_We can cross Captain Stone off the list; he was in the middle of the Mediterranean when Debbie was murdered._"

"Okay." He turned to Gibbs and said, "One more suspect off our list; Captain Stone of the _Lincoln_. In the middle of the Mediterranean right now."

"What was so special about him anyway?" Gibbs asked.

Tim switched the cell to speaker and repeated Gibbs' question. "_I'm not sure yet_," Julie said. "_Her last entry in her journal, which I'm currently going through, says she was thinking about talking to Major General Cresswell and discussing her options_." Julie sighed heavily. "_I'm guessing the St. Christopher-slash-Navy medallion that was on her might have something to do with that_."

"That wasn't hers?" Gibbs asked, recalling the quarter-sized silver medallion Lt. Suddth had been wearing.

"_Debbie wore a crescent moon goddess pendant that was a favorite of hers and it's not here. If memory serves me right, St. Christopher was the patron saint of travelers and sailors, a Catholic saint, and Catholic Debbie and I are not. Plus the chain the medallion is on is more of what I would expect a guy to wear, not a girl. That and there was a short dark brown hair in the clasp. Abby's running DNA now._"

"Keep me posted," Gibbs said.

"_Wilco_," Julie said, hanging up.

"Seems Lt. Suddth was keeping a few secrets," Gibbs said as Tim snapped the cell shut. "Let's just hope one of them didn't get her killed."

At the RLSO it didn't take long to find Lt. Lawrence, who was going through a large pile of paperwork and she didn't look too happy about it. As it was, she was more than a bit snarky when Gibbs and Tim hauled her in to the nearest conference room. That was just fine by Gibbs; one never knew what they could wiggle out of someone when they were in a bad mood and Gibbs had no problems playing hard ball.

"What do you want, Agent Gibbs?" Lawrence asked, going heavy on the word agent, making it sound more like a dirty word rather than a title.

"I'd like to know why you are so interested in Seaman Lindstrom and the PFC Sorreson case, for starters," Gibbs said easily, lounging in the chair.

"Who said I was?" she asked shrewedly.

"Your fingerprints in the files," Tim said.

"What fingerprints?" she demanded.

"What? You didn't know?" Gibbs asked innocently. "Every time someone accesses a file in the armed forces, there's little fingerprints left behind."

"And we are very, very good at finding those fingerprints," Tim said. He gave a bright, teeth-flashing smile.

"So I ask again, what is your interest in Seaman Lindstrom and PFC Sorreson?" Gibbs said. "Don't make me ask again because if I have to ask again, I am not going to be happy, and neither is Captain Riker."

"I don't know about you," Tim said, leaning forward conspiratorially, "but I kinda get nervous when Gibbs isn't happy. Because if Gibbs isn't happy, believe me when I say _no one_ is happy."

Lawrence glanced at Gibbs nervously and Gibbs just smiled at her but it was not a nice smile.

_Here, sharky, sharky, sharky_, Tim thought absently, recognizing the smile on his boss' face. _Dinner time._

"That wasn't me," Lawrence finally said. "Someone must have used my computer."

"Who said we said someone used your computer?" Gibbs asked.

"You said fingerprints," Lawrence snapped.

"Which means someone accessed those files with your code," Tim said. "Not your computer. Not quite the same thing."

"So what if I was checking out those files?" Lawrence snapped. "I was making sure Lt. Suddth didn't screw things up, like she always does!"

"Me thinks someone doesn't like Lt. Suddth," Tim said, glancing at Gibbs.

"You think?" Gibbs asked.

"She's a screw-up and a liar," Lawrence snarled. "The Navy is better off without someone like her, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

Gibbs made a note of that and so did Tim, already thinking he would check in to Lt. Lawrence's files, see if maybe Lt. Suddth had found something not quite kosher. "Where did Lt. Suddth stick her nose in?" Gibbs asked.

"In several of my cases, which was none of her business," Lawrence snapped.

"Which cases?" Gibbs asked.

Lawrence smirked. "If you're so good at finding things, why don't you look for yourself, _sir_?"

"Also there's the little matter of the fact that your cell records show you sent a rather nice picture to Seaman Lindstrom very, very recently," Gibbs said.

"My cell was stolen," Lawrence said quickly, a little too quickly.

"Did you report it?" Gibbs asked.

"Why would I?" Lawrence snapped. "Cell phones get stolen all the time."

"Did you call your carrier and have the number disabled?"

"Not yet," Lawrence said.

"Why not? Last time I misplaced my cell, I called my carrier ASAP and had the number disabled," Tim said.

"Do I look like I have the time to wait forever and a damn day on the phone just to have my cell number disabled?" Lawrence snapped. "Thanks to you, I've been so busy I haven't had time to even eat, never mind make a personal call! Thanks to the fact that she hasn't come back and picked up her fair share of the work around here, I'm being forced to pick up the slack! Nobody even knows where she is!"

"Oh, but we do," Gibbs said. He took out his cell and dialed a number.

"_Suddth_," came Julie's familiar voice.

Gibbs hit the speaker button on his cell and asked, "Lieutenant, Lt. Lawrence wants to know where you are."

"_I'm at NCIS, currently going over some forensic evidence with your forensic specialist, Abby Scuito_," Julie said, not missing a beat. "_Anything else?_"

Gibbs did not miss the way Lawrence suddenly blanched or the way she quickly tried to cover it up. _Nice try, sweetheart_, he thought. "Yeah, she wants to know when you'll be back to pick up the slack from all the paperwork she's whining about having to do," Gibbs said, ignoring the glare Lawrence gave him. _If looks could kill...._

"_At this moment, I don't know. It depends on how the case goes, how long you need me and my expertise, yada yada yada._" There was a teasing smile in her voice as she asked, "_Does poor Lt. Lawrence really miss me that much? I'm sure I could always accommodate her with my rather busy schedule. Say, oh, I don't know, lunch next month?_"

"Where?" Gibbs asked.

"_How about in hell?_" Julie asked. "_Ooops, sorry, boss, gotta go. Abby needs me for something._" And with that, she hung up.

"Ouch," Tim said. "Now I remember why I like her."

"Yeah, me too," Gibbs said.

"Did you know DiNozzo asked her out on a date?" Tim asked conversationally.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Gibbs asked, playing along, knowing this tactic sometimes worked at seriously annoying people. "What did the good lieutenant say?"

"Well, she asked what the entertainment would be and when he suggested a movie, she said sure, but she would have to muzzle her Boston Terrier first. It seems her '_baby_' likes nuts for a meal."

"Lt. Suddth doesn't have a dog," Lawrence said shrewedly.

Tim grinned. "DiNozzo doesn't know that," he said. "That was when he decided he had other plans." Tim got a very puzzled look on his face. "I heard him mutter something about corgis and Ducky?"

Gibbs chuckled cell rang and he snapped it open. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"_We have Bobby Soto at NCIS, Gibbs_," Tony said.

"And?"

"_He's drunk. I'm thinking we let him dry out first before we set Ziva on him._" There was just a trace of a smirk in Tony's voice and Gibbs debated with himself about that.

_Hangover verses drunk.... _"Let him dry out but make sure he's up bright and early tomorrow and make sure he doesn't get any coffee or aspirin until we offer it to him," he said.

"_Got it, boss._"

Gibbs leaned towards Lawrence and said, as he snapped his cell shut, "You're going to have to come up with a better excuse than your cell phone being stolen, lieutenant. As it is, you're on my radar."

"Why?" Lawrence demanded.

"Because someone not only tried to kill the good lieutenant two nights ago, they also tried to take her sister out and me this morning while she was on her morning run through Rock Creek Park this morning," Gibbs said coldly. "I don't like being shot at."

Tim winced. "He gets mean when someone shoots at him," he said. "He tends to shoot back and he rarely, rarely misses."

"You don't have anything on me or you would have hauled me up to NCIS by now," Lawrence said shrewdly.

"What makes you think we won't?" Gibbs asked. "I'm sure you'd love to spend some time with Bobby Soto; DiNozzo says he's a bit drunk right now."

Lawrence stared at them coldly before saying, "I don't have anything more to say to you."

"That's fine," Gibbs said. "We'll just keep digging and when we do hit paydirt, sweetcheeks, the next time we have this conversation, you'll be sitting in an interrogation room at NCIS."

As they left the building, Tim asked, "Now what, boss?"

"Now we wait and hope Lt. Lawrence is stupid enough or desperate enough to try again."

"I'll find Julie a flak jacket," Tim said.

Back at NCIS, Tony entered Abby's lab carrying an evidence box. "Oh Abby!" he said in a sing-song voice. "I got a present for you!"

"Oooh, and it's not even my birthday!" Abby said, bouncing up and down eagerly. "Whatcha got?"

"A nice, shiny gun just for you!" Tony said, handing the box over to Abby with a flourish.

"Oh goody!" Abby yelped eagerly, taking the box and opening it.

"And guess what?" Tony asked.

"Don't keep me in suspense, Tony," Abby said, signing her name on the chain of evidence form on the box.

"It's been fired recently!"

"Mine!" Abby yelped, tearing in to the ballistics lab with the gun. "And it's even the right model of our missing gun! How sweet of you!"

"Where's Julie?" Tony asked, following her.

She jerked her thumb towards her office. "Buried in her sister's journal. She thinks she'll find something in it that isn't in her on-line journal."

"Can't hurt."

"Well, she already found something that she says doesn't jive; a St. Christopher-slash-Navy medallion the size of a quarter that she says she's sure she's never seen Lt. Suddth wear before, not when the single hair I found in it is dark brown and short."

"Could have been a gift," Tony said.

"Possibly. I'm running the DNA now," Abby said.

"It came from Captain Gordon Stone," Julie said, joining them and rubbing her eyes tiredly. She had removed her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. "Apparently Debbie and Captain Stone spent a rather passionate night at a hotel in Puerto Rico a few weeks back when both the _Lincoln _and the _Eisenhower _were in port at the same time."

"How did they meet?" Tony asked, curious.

"Debbie served as JAG officer while on the _Lincoln_. Seems they shared two kisses, one she called hesitant and sweet, the other one she claims nearly melted her shoes to the deck," Julie said.

"Isn't that against regs?" Tony asked.

"Apparently it is because she expressed extreme guilt over it," Julie said, leaning against the table in the lab and folding her arms tiredly. "However, both she and Captain Stone admitted there was, quote, something there."

"And Puerto Rico?" Abby asked.

"Pure chance," Julie said. "She had rented a room to get away from the ship for a while, one saw the other, both out of uniform, and short of the long, the warm night suddenly got a lot warmer."

"Wow," Abby breathed.

"And the medallion?" Tony asked.

"Closest thing to a promise ring. From the letter Captain Stone wrote, that I found in her journal, this was no flash in the pan. It seems they were both very much in love. Debbie's last entry said she was considering leaving the Navy and had even begun to look at civilian law. She mentioned she was going to talk to Major General Cresswell about it," Julie said.

"A woman in love," Tony said.

Julie sighed heavily. "And a man who is about to be heartbroken. I've got to tell him."

"Need help?" Abby asked sympathetically.

"I need Gibbs' authorization and a video connection," Julie said before muttering, "and then I'm gonna need a bottle of vodka."

Tony and Abby winced.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Good morning, good morning, good morning ladies and gentlemen!" Tony yelled cheerfully as he entered the interrogation room, carrying a steaming cup of coffee and Bobby Soto's file.

Bobby Soto did not look good. In fact, he looked green around the gills.

Behind the glass, Gibbs said, "If he tried that with me, I'd shoot him and I wouldn't be merciful about what I aimed for."

"This should be fun," Ziva said, grinning evilly.

Tony slammed the file down on the table and Bobby, who was holding his head, jumped then moaned.

"How ya feelin', Bobby boy?" Tony asked cheerfully.

"Like I'm gonna puke, man," Bobby moaned.

"Well," Tony said, leaning forward and propping his hands in front of him, "I'll tell you what; you give me what I want and I'll give you what you need."

"And that is?" Bobby asked suspiciously.

"Coffee and aspirin." He waggled the cup of coffee at Bobby and took a small container of aspirin out from his jacket pocket and rattled it before placing it on the table near the file. Then he grinned and said, "Oh, and I'll stop trying to make your head explode."

"What do you want, man?" Bobby moaned, eying the offerings.

"I just want to know where you got the nice shiny gun and who you fired it at," Tony said innocently.

"That's mine, man. I got it from a friend," Bobby said. "And I ain't fire it at nobody."

"Now, you see, we kinda sorta got a wee bit of a problem," Tony said, tilting his head back and forth.

"He is enjoying this a bit too much," Ziva said, grinning.

"He knows what it's like to have a hangover," Gibbs said.

"What's the problem, man?" Bobby whined.

"You killed a Navy lieutenant lawyer with it!" Tony suddenly yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. "She wasn't just some blonde bimbo lawyer! She was somebody's sister, somebody's daughter, and maybe, if you'd left her alone, she would have been somebody's wife and eventually somebody's mother!"

"That bitch took Lo-lo from us!" Bobby shot back, forgetting he just claimed he hadn't shot anyone with the gun.

"Yes, that bitch took Lo-lo from you!" Tony fired back. "She took Lo-lo off the streets, away from you, away from the gangs, away from jail, and quite possibly away from the drugs or even the morgue! Is that what you want for her? Is that the kind of life you want for her?"

"What kind of life does she have servin' her so-called country, a country who's prez sends our guys to die?" Bobby demanded, before moaning and holding his head, looking more and more like he was going to vomit.

"He pukes, he cleans it up," Gibbs said.

"A life she chose!" Tony snapped. "You want proof? Do You Want Proof?" he yelled when Bobby didn't answer fast enough.

"Hell yeah!"

"Cue the video," Tony said. He held up the remote and aimed it at the plasma. A second later, a video came on and it showed Seaman Lindstrom and Tony talking in the interrogation room. Tony had suggested this as part of his options for extracting information out of Bobby.

"_Are you happy in the Navy, Gloria?" Tony asked, setting the coffee down in front of her._

"_Yes, sir," Lindstrom said, her face lighting up. "I like being on the seas an' taking care of my ship."_

"_What about the fact that some people don't always come home from serving?" Tony asked._

"_I thought about that," Lindstrom admitted. "Kept me awake for a lot of nights. But Lt. Suddth, she told me that the people who serve, they know there's a chance they might not come home again, and yet they still go. They go 'cause it's the right thing to do. She said she was proud to serve because she knew that what she was doing made a difference. She reminded me of the reason why Hitler and his wacko Nazis don't control the world and told me about the pretty extreme version of Islam that the Talibans follow. She told me about the women over there, what they go through and what the suicide bombers were thinking when they attacked the Towers in New York and the Pentagon and the other plane that fell. We talked for, like, hours."_

"_Sounds like it was pretty stimulating conversation," Tony said._

"_She made me think," Lindstrom admitted. "She asked me if I would be able to make a difference on the streets, dealing drugs, prostitution, guns, all that."_

"_What did you say?"_

"_I realized she was right; it ain't gonna make much of a difference. If I have kids, how proud are they gonna be of me? Then she pulled a dirty on me," Lindstrom said, grinning._

"_What did she do?" Tony asked, also grinning._

"_She asked me if I wanted to be a captain of one of the ships one day."_

"_Do you?" Tony asked._

"_Yeah, I do," Lindstrom said. "I want to be a captain and when I told her that, she said that if I kept my nose clean and worked hard, she would help me get in to the officer's program."_

"_Pretty ambitious," Tony said._

"_It's a dream but more importantly, it's my dream."_

"_What do you think Bobby might have to say about that? He sure didn't seem happy about you joining the Navy."_

"_I don't care. It's my life an' I'm gonna live it the way I choose. Bobby can't stop me an' he knows it."_

"_What about this favor he claims you owe him?" Tony said._

"_I don't owe him anything; he didn't have to take the gun. I know what he wants and it ain't gonna happen," Lindstrom said. "He wants weapons but I got too much loyalty to Lt. Suddth an' the Navy to let that happen." She shook her head. "Nope, after this, after I take whatever the judge dishes out to me for trustin' that stupid fool an' not my C.O. I ain't never, ever callin' or talkin' to him again. We are so done."_

Tony turned off the plasma and turned to Bobby. "Now do you believe me?" he asked coldly. "Seaman Lindstrom doesn't want anything to do with you; she trusted you to help her and you used that gun on a friend. I wonder what she's going to do when she finds out."

"Fuck you, man! Fuck you!" Bobby yelled.

"I believe Abby called that a potty mouth," Ziva said.

"Sounds about right," Gibbs said.

"How is it going with Julie at your place?" Ziva asked.

"She hasn't been sleeping well. I can hear her tossing and turning at night and I thought I heard her crying in her sleep," Gibbs said. "She isn't handling this very well."

"You know, we really don't need your confession," Tony said easily. "We have your prints on the gun, the very same gun that was used to kill Lt. Suddth. Oh, and guess what else we have?" His hand shot out and he grabbed Bobby's right wrist, revealing a cut on the skin between his thumb and finger. "We have your DNA on the gun's hammer. Smarts like a bitch when that happens, don't it?" Bobby just glared at him and yanked his wrist out of Tony's grip. "Of course, if you talk, it might go easier with the D.A. but if not, well, we'll still get you for murder anyway."

"Fuck you, man," Bobby snarled.

"Have a nice life," Tony said, standing up and taking the file, coffee, and aspirin.

"Wait, man," Bobby whined. "What do you want from me?"

"I want a written confession and I want the silencer I know you used on the gun," Tony said coldly.

"And will it go easier with the D.A.?" Bobby asked.

"I'll talk to them, tell them you cooperated," Tony said. "Probably get you a nice comfortable jail cell rather than the over-crowded, gang-festering one I was going to suggest to the D.A."

"You can do that?" Bobby asked hopefully.

Tony laughed. "Oh man, you have no idea what I can do." He sat back down and tossed a pen and legal pad at Bobby. "Start writing, buster."

"Busted," Gibbs said, grinning.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to let him near Julie, though," Ziva said. "She had her gun with her and I'm afraid she might try and use it on him."

"Good thing she's in MTAC with McGee, isn't she?" Gibbs said.

"Why there?" Ziva asked as they left the room.

"Telling Captain Stone his girlfriend is dead," Gibbs said. "Seems he and Lt. Suddth were pretty close and she was seriously considering giving up her Navy career to be with him. It was the only way she could figure to get around the fraternization regulations."

"Definitely a woman in love."

In MTAC, Tim was handing Julie a headset as he stood next to her in front of the huge video screen. Fall was coming and she had elected to wear a nice but simple ribbed cowl-neck soft sweaterdress in heather blue and knee-high brown button boots with a three-inch wooden heel on them. She had elected to wear her hair back in a twist that was held in place with decorative hair sticks. Tim noticed she had tried but failed to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

A moment later the screen flickered and a man wearing the tan-colored Navy utility uniform, complete with dark blue ship hat, appeared on the screen. He had dark brown hair and reminded Julie of actor Bruce Greenwood. Her hands started shaking and she quickly hid them behind her, gripping them.

"_Captain Stone here, what can I do for you, NCIS_?" he asked, starting slightly when he saw Julie.

"Good morning, Captain. I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee. I wish I could say this was a courtesy call but I'm afraid it's not," Tim said. He nodded towards Julie and said, "This is FBI Agent Julie Suddth. I believe you may know her."

"_Um, yes, yes I believe I do. You have a sister named Lt. Debra Suddth?_" Stone asked, eying her suspiciously.

"I do, sir. In fact, that's what we're calling about, sir," Julie said.

Stone eyed them suspiciously even more but said, "_You have my attention._"

"It is with extreme regret that I feel I must inform you that three nights ago, Debbie was murdered in Norfolk," Julie said after taking a deep breath to steady her nerves and her voice. Her eyes started smarting and she blinked hard, fighting not to give in to the tears. _Not yet,_ she told herself. _Not yet and not in front of Tim or Captain Stone._

Stone's face blanched. "_Oh my god,_" he breathed, his hand going to his mouth. "_What happened?_" he demanded. "_Who? Why?_"

"We have a lead on who but not why," Tim said. "It's currently an on-going investigation."

Stone nodded, breathing heavily. "_Why are you telling me this?_" he asked.

Julie held up a silver-colored medallion; it was the St. Christopher medallion Stone had give Debra. "I think you know why. I know what happened, Captain, both on the ship and in Puerto Rico. I know about the letter you wrote to her and I know how much she cared about you."

"_What are you going to do with that information?_" Stone demanded.

Julie shook her head. "Not a damn thing," she said. "I have no interest in destroying your career or holding an against-the-regs fraternization over your head. I simply felt that, given the obvious feelings between the two of you, you had a right to know and a right to hear it from me rather than through the grapevine."

Stone nodded, and then said, "_Thank you._"

"I don't know if it's any comfort but Debbie was seriously contemplating leaving the Navy and moving to civilian law so she could be with you," Julie said. "Her last journal entry stated she was going to talk to Major General Cresswell about her options."

Stone nodded. "_If she had left the Navy, I would have married her in a heartbeat,_" he admitted. "_I'm sorry._"

"So am I," Julie said.

"_Promise me something,_" Stone said.

"If I can," Julie said.

"_The minute you guys find the bitch or the bastard who took Debbie from us, you call me,_" Stone said. "_That's not a request, it's an order._"

"Since I don't serve the Navy, an order doesn't cut any ice with me, sir," Julie said, grinning. "But the minute I know, you know," Julie promised. "I may not be able to tell you who, but I will try and tell you why. It depends on what NCIS finds."

"_Who's investigating?_"

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," Tim said.

Stone nodded. "_I've heard of him; a good man._"

Tim and Julie nodded. "Take care, Captain," Julie said.

"_Fair winds and following seas, ma'am,_" Stone said before signing off.

Julie sighed heavily and removed her headset. "I hate doing this."

Tim nodded sympathetically. Then his cell rang; it was Abby and she was fairly shrieking with excitement. "Whoa, Abby, Abby slow down!" He listened for a moment and then started grinning. "Have you called Gibbs? Right, right, of course. We'll be right there." He snapped his cell shut and turned to Julie. "Lt. Lawrence just did something really, really stupid."

"Oh?"

"She just called Seaman Lindstrom's cell and the message she left was very interesting."

"I thought she claimed her cell was stolen," Julie said shrewdly.

"Looks like she got it back or it was never stolen," Tim said, grinning and leading the way out of MTAC.

"Busted," Julie said in a sing-song voice.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** The information about the Naval Station Norfolk comes from Wikipedia.

**Chapter 12**

"_You stupid fucking bitch! Lt. Debra Suddth is supposed to be dead! I will ruin you, you miserable, no-good little whore! You _will_ kill her by midnight tonight and it _will _be on the news by tomorrow morning, or I swear, bitch, I swear you will never, _ever _set foot on a ship again!_"

In the lab, Ziva, Tony, Tim, Abby, Gibbs, and Julie listened to the message on Seaman Lindstrom's voicemail. Then Julie turned to Gibbs and said, "I take it your little stunt yesterday worked."

"Oh, the one where I called asking you where you were and mentioning Lt. Lawrence was looking for you?" Gibbs asked.

"Mm-hm," Julie said. "From the way she's swearing, she is not a happy woman."

"Do we bring her in, boss?" Tony asked.

"Where was the cell when the call was made?" Gibbs asked.

Abby's fingers danced across the keyboard and a moment later a map of Norfolk appeared, along with a red circle, indicating a cell-tower and the range. "Near the RLSO at the Naval Station Norfolk," she said.

"You know she'll claim her cell was stolen and that she didn't make the call," Tim said. "All we have is circumstantial evidence."

"We have the gun," Tony said.

"Which does not have her prints on it. We do not even have the box the gun was originally in," Ziva pointed out. "Bobby Soto claims Seaman Lindstrom gave him the gun."

"A gun that went missing from the NCIS evidence vault," Tony pointed out.

"Anyone could have taken it," Ziva said. "We do not actually see Lt. Lawrence take the gun, just enter the vault."

"What about the fact that she accessed the records of Seaman Lindstrom and the PFC Sorreson case?" Tim asked.

"Someone could have used her access code," Ziva said. "You're a hacker," she pointed out to Tim, "you know how easy it is to get information like that, especially if you know what you're doing and looking for."

"And Seaman Lindstrom?" Tony asked.

"She could be lying to protect herself and salvage her career," Ziva said. "After all, she has been arrested before for stealing."

"What do you think, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

Gibbs was listening but he was also watching Julie, who was getting a gleam in her eyes. "What I want to know is what you are thinking, Suddth." he said.

"What I'm thinking may or may not be admissible in court, but it would be fun to try," Julie said, studying the map of Norfolk. "How's your history of Naval Station Norfolk?"

"Are we talking history class here?" Gibbs asked.

Julie started grinning but it was not a nice grin. "Did you know the station has been in use since 1917? Today, the station is home to five Carriers, six Cruisers, five Frigates, nine Amphibious Assault ships, eight submarines, fifteen Military Sealift Command ships, and twenty-two Guided Missile Destroyers. It's considered one of the world's biggest stations. Unfortunately, when you get ships and men and alcohol, especially in the early days of the Navy, well, things happen. As it was, more than a few murders have happened on the docks, as well as a few accidents." She moved, hands behind her back and, pitching her voice low, continued. "The worst accident took place on September 17, 1943. A NAS department truck was pulling four trailers loaded with depth charges on the taxiway between NAS and the NOB piers. Each trailer was designed to carry four aerial depth charges, but to save time, two additional charges were loaded on top of each trailer. To make matters worse, they weren't properly chained down."

"Oh jeeze," Abby said, wincing, seeing where this was going.

"One of the charges slipped loose and became wedged between the trailer and the ground," Julie said, continuing. "The friction of being dragged against the road caused the charge to begin smoking. An alert Marine sentry spotted the smoke and notified the driver who immediately stopped the truck and ran to a nearby fire station to get some help and find a way to cool the charges down, but it was too late. An Assistant Fire Chief was killed in the first blast and by the time the charges finished exploding, eighteen buildings and thirty-three aircraft were destroyed, and forty people died, with over four hundred people injured."

"Ouch," Tony said, wincing.

Julie dropped her voice to a whisper and rested her chin on Tony's shoulder. "It's said that just before the clock strikes midnight, especially on clear nights, when there's very few ships at the docks, that it's really not very safe to wander down around some of the older piers. That things have been known to happen there." She moved behind Tim, who eyed her suspiciously. "People claim to have heard whispers that have no source and shadows that have no form. They say that on a cold night, when there's a full moon and a clear sky, a mist appears out of nowhere and moves against the wind. Those who believe, claim the mist comes from the September 17 1943 explosion, when the souls of all those lost in the explosion, continue to wander, confused, angry, and very unhappy because of one stupid mistake."

"_The Fog_," Tony said, shivering.

"Which one?" Julie asked, familiar with the movies. She grinned.

"What about the explosion?" Gibbs asked, wondering where this was going.

"We could get Lt. Lawrence on circumstantial evidence," she began before her face turned ugly, "but I don't want that."

"What do you want?" Gibbs asked.

"I want that bitch to confess and if I have to scare the crap out of her, I will do so," Julie hissed.

"What do you have in mind?" Gibbs asked, seeing where this was going.

"I'm thinking let's tell Seaman Lindstrom the truth, have her make a call to Lt. Lawrence to meet her at the docks, and we raise Lt. Debra Suddth from the dead," Julie said coldly.

Abby's face lit up. "That is seriously freaky! I like a lot!"

"Count me out," Tony said, holding up one finger.

Tim grinned mischievously. "What's the matter, DiNozzo? The idea of a haunted pier give you the heebie jeebies?"

"Heh," Tony said, glaring at Tim. "You're not the one who had to do a radar check on a supposed-to-be-dead Marine in the middle of the cemetery in the dead of the night."

Tim and Abby sniggered and Julie grinned. "How badly did Gibbs scare you?" Abby asked.

"Enough that I though he was going to join the old lady and her poodle in her grave," Gibbs said deadpan. "What do we need, Suddth?" he asked.

"Debbie's uniform and the usual assortment of video gear, plus if Abby could kindly create a sound track of whispers, it would be a big help," Julie said. "And maybe, depending on the weather, a fog machine."

"After the way you did my nails, your wish is my command!" Abby said cheerfully, bouncing on her heels.

"Your nails?" Gibbs asked, confused.

Abby thrust her fingers under Gibbs' nose and wiggled them. He caught her hand and studied her nails. _They had been nicely done, Abby-style_, he thought. The nails had a black base with alternating roses and skulls and crossbones skillfully done. Both of Abby's index fingers had faux gems for the skull's eyes. "Nice," he said.

Julie reached in to her sweater and and pulled out her dog tags, beginning to fiddle with them. A gleam in the metal caught Gibbs' attention and he gently caught the tags. She froze but allowed him to take a closer look.

"Are you sure Burnham told you that the symbols on the tags mean strength and faith?" he asked, studying the symbols.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" Julie asked.

"Abby, pull up the Chinese symbols for _strength _and _faith _and compare them to the Chinese symbol for _I love you_," Gibbs said, letting go of the pendant. Abby did so and Julie's eyes widened. The symbols were very different and the _I love you_ symbols matched the ones on her pendant.

"I don't understand; John wouldn't have gotten something like that mixed up," Julie said, confused.

"Maybe he's trying to tell you something without actually telling you something," Tony suggested.

"He gives you his service number with the letter _B_ after it, that's pretty specific," Gibbs said.

"If he's interested in me as more than a friend, why hasn't he asked me out or something like that? Why this and why the fudge about the symbols?" Julie asked.

"Speaking from experience?" Gibbs offered. Julie nodded. "Us Marines are pretty good at being willing to put our lives on the line for those we care about, but when it comes to our hearts, eh, that's a different subject."

"Been there, done that?" she asked, glancing at him. He nodded and she nodded thoughtfully.

Then Gibbs' cell rang. "Yeah, Gibbs." He listened to the voice on the other end of the line for a moment then said, "Sure, sweetie, here she is." He handed Julie the cell and said, "It's Erica; seems she was looking for you and you don't have your cell with you."

Curious, Julie accepted the cell and moved to a quiet corner. As she did, Tim pulled up a satellite map of the Naval Station Norfolk area on the plasma. "Okay, here are the ships and the piers," he said, marking the various locations on the map as Tony and Gibbs moved to the plasma.

"Screw the ships and screw Lt. Lawrence," Julie suddenly snapped, tossing Gibbs his cell and moving rapidly towards the elevator. "Adam McIver is drunk and beating the crap out of his wife again. Erica is hiding at my place."

"Let's go," Gibbs said. "DiNozzo."

"Call Metro, get somebody over there ASAP," Tony said, already getting out his cell.

"Abby!" Gibbs called.

"I'll start working on that plan!" she called cheerfully. "McGee, I could use your help!"

"Boss?" Tim asked.

"Stay with Abby," Gibbs said as the elevator opened and they stepped in. "By the time I get back, I want a plan in place to catch Lt. Lawrence!"

"Got it boss!" Tim said.

Tony was fairly certain Gibbs broke every road rule there was in his desperation to get to Julie's apartment. Everyone had stopped by their desks and grabbed their weapons and badges; Julie had grabbed a black webbed utility belt she admitted she wore when she was wearing a dress for situations like this. Before Gibbs had even parked, Julie was out, keys in hand, and running for the main entrance of the building. Metro was coming but there were reports of a massive traffic jam that was impeding their progress.

Even before they arrived at what Tony assumed was Adam McIver's apartment, they could hear the yelling. The team took position on either side of the door, weapons out, with Gibbs and Julie in the lead. On Gibbs' nod, Julie pounded the door and yelled, "Federal agents, open up!"

"_Fuck off!_" a male voice yelled angrily.

"I take that as a 'no'," Ziva said.

"That's the polite version," Julie quipped.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said. Tony nodded, and moved in front of the door. With a grunt, he kicked and the door slammed forward. Having done this many times, in one form or another, all four agents poured inside the apartment.

"Federal agents!" Gibbs yelled.

"Get down on the floor!" Ziva yelled.

A scruffy, unkempt man froze as he was about to strike a sobbing, bruised woman who was cowering against a couch, blood running down her face. The stench of alcohol permeated the room and the team spotted numerous bottles and cans of beer scattered about the apartment.

"Back off!" Tony yelled.

"Get out of my house!" the man yelled.

"Adam McIver, you're under arrest for aggravated assault," Julie began, reaching for the cuffs on her utility belt and putting her gun away as she carefully approached the man.

"Fuck you, bitch!" Adam yelled. His fist suddenly shot out and he caught Julie with a punch in the face that snapped her head back and sent her staggering. She shook her head, seeing stars and held up her hand to stop the NCIS agents from assisting her. She touched her mouth and her fingers came away with blood. Then she caught the sneer on Adam's face. That did it. Everything she had kept bottle up over the last few days, ever since she had lost her sister, exploded to the surface in a mindless rage.

The next thing Gibbs knew, Julie had lunged at Adam and struck him viciously in the face. He went down and she followed, landing blow after blow on the man's face, rage on her face.

"Get off my husband!" the woman yelled, trying to lunge at Julie, but Ziva got there first and hauled Anna away, kicking and struggling.

It was Gibbs who grabbed Julie and hauled her out of the apartment and in to the hallway. "Get in to your apartment," he snapped. Breathing hard, she did as she was told, hands shaking as she unlocked her apartment door. Then, fairly staggering, she made her way to her couch. "Stay there," he commanded, removing her gun from its place at her hip, more as a safety precaution than anything else, as Erica tentatively peeped out from Julie's bedroom, wearing what looked like a large sweatshirt with Garfield on it.

"Is my mom okay?" the little girl asked, coming forward, having heard the shouting and the yelling.

"She'll be okay, but she's going to need medical attention," Gibbs soothed. "Is there any ice in the fridge?" he asked, seeing the bruising on Julie's face.

Erica nodded and ran to the fridge to get a gell pack from the freezer, which she wrapped in a towel and gave to Julie, wincing at the bruise on her face. "Did my dad do that?" she asked sadly.

"He did, but Julie made sure he didn't get a chance to do it again," Gibbs said. "Stay here and keep an eye on her. Your father is under arrest for assaulting a federal officer as well as resisting arrest."

Erica nodded as if having expected something like that. She went to the kitchen and began to make coffee, obviously familiar with Julie's kitchen.

Satisfied that Julie was in good hands for now and away from Adam, Gibbs went to check on his team. Tony and Ziva had successfully cuffed a very dazed and bruised Adam McIver and paramedics had arrived and were now treating the battered couple. Metro had also arrived and were eying Adam with disdain and caution. Ziva was standing nearby, keeping an eye on Adam and his wife, both of whom were protesting loudly.

Tony came over to Gibbs and said quietly, "The father has been cuffed and a breath analyzer test says he's well above the legal limit, about 0.11 and reaching. Seems this isn't the first time they've been called out here to deal with these two. How's Erica?" He and Ziva had been apprised of the situation on the way over so both knew about the little girl and her relationship with Julie Suddth.

"She's safe for now; hiding in Julie's apartment," Gibbs said. "I don't think the mother, Anna, is in any shape to try and look after her and with Julie in protective custody, she's not any better."

"Social Services?" Tony suggested. Gibbs nodded. Tony nodded. "I'll make the call."

"And I'll talk to Erica," Gibbs said.

"FBI isn't going to be too happy with her," Tony cautioned. "Our friendly neighborhood Mr. McIver is already screaming about aggravated assault and police brutality. Any idea what caused Julie to attack like that?"

"Repressed emotions," Gibbs said. "Grief, anger, you name it. She's hurting and she's not handling it well."

"Looks like she did a little _Wolverine_ on him, attacking like that," Tony said, referring to Hugh Jackman's _X-Men Origins: Wolverine_.

"Ticking time bomb," Ziva said, coming up to them. "And Adam McIver got caught in the blast."

"How is our fine, upstanding citizen?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Sore, but he'll live," Ziva said, shrugging. "I think his problem has more to do with the fact that he was beaten by a woman than the fact that he was beaten."

"Could be," Gibbs said. One of the Metro officers approached him and said, "We're ready to leave."

"You know what we're booking him for?" Gibbs asked.

"Resisting arrest, assaulting a federal officer, aggravated assault, child endagerment, spousal abuse, shall I continue?" the officer asked.

Gibbs grinned. "Nah, that pretty much sums it up. Get him out of here."

"And the wife?"

"Child endangerment?" Gibbs suggested.

"Good enough," the officer said. "Let's go, ladies and gentlemen."

Satisfied, Gibbs headed back to Julie's apartment to check on his charge. She was still on her couch and talking quietly to Erica, who had cuddled up to her. As he watched them, he made a judgment call. He decided it was time to place a call to a certain Master Sergeant Marine and get Jule the hell out of the area for a while. They could manage without her for a few hours and he strongly suspected it was time John Burnham fessed up to Julie Suddth about the dog tags she wore.

"Julie," he said, moving to sit beside her. She looked up at him, eyes haunted and rimmed with tears. Again she was fiddling with her tags. "Get changed; put some street clothes on. We can manage without you for a few hours. I don't want to see you back at NCIS until 2100, got that?"

"I thought I was under protective custody," she said.

"You are; you're going with Burnham," he said. "Take a break; forget about everything for a while."

"What do I do about getting him to tell me the truth?" she asked.

Gibbs smiled. "Give me a few minutes with him and I'll see what I can do."

"And Erica?"

"She'll be okay. As for Adam, Metro is going to be hitting him with numerous charges. You may have to face your supervisor if Adam charges you with aggravated assault or anything along those lines," Gibbs warned her. "However, I'm thinking mitigating circumstances. You may get suspended for a time."

She shrugged. "That's fine; I could use the time off."

He nodded. "I'll let Fornell know, see what he can do."

"Thanks." He rubbed her shoulders gently and stood up. Then she looked up at him and asked, "Hey, Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Does it ever get better?"

He shook his head. "Not always better, but sometimes easier."

"Better than nothing, I guess."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **According to Google Map, it's about a little over three hours to get from Washington, DC to Norfolk, VA.

**Chapter 13**

While they waited for John Burnham to arrive, who had promised Gibbs he would be there as quickly as possible, Adam and Anna McIver were taken away by Metro police and Erica, once things had been explained to her, went with the Social worker who had arrive. Julie had, once again, pinky promised that she would be there for their Saturday shopping trip. After Erica had left, Julie had gotten changed and Gibbs had given her back her gun. Now the young federal agent wore jeans, runners, a dark blue turtleneck and a white hooded sweatshirt with Pooky, Garfield, and the words, "Hugs... No Waiting!"

"How many of those things do you have?" Gibbs asked.

"About a dozen or so," she said, shrugging as she brushed her hair in to a pony tail. "What can I say? I'm a fan." She put her brush down and reached for a large denim jacket.

"I gathered that," Gibbs said.

"Don't tempt me to leave one of Garfield's Java Joint mugs on your desk," Julie threatened, already planning to do just that, as a way of saying thanks.

Then John appeared at Julie's door, looking a bit hesitant. Julie's eyes went a bit wide and Gibbs went over to the Marine to talk to him quietly. John was wearing jeans, a dark blue turtleneck, a red_ Capitals Hockey_ hooded sweatshirt, runners, and a denim and fleece jacket. It was ordinary street-wear but it wasn't so much as what he was wearing but the way the jeans hugged his butt, something Julie noticed when he turned sideways to talk to Gibbs.

Ziva and Tony were also in her apartment and Julie mouthed to Ziva, _Wow!_

Ziva grinned and mouthed back, _You like?_

_A lot! _was the reply.

Ziva just grinned, fully understanding and fully appreciating the sentiment. John, like most Marines, worked out regularly as part of their training and regime and it showed. When John shifted his weight to one leg and put his hand on his hip, both Julie and Ziva could have sworn the room temperature rose by several degrees.

Tony noticed because he said sarcastically, thankfully in a low voice, "You want a tissue, girls?"

"What for?" Ziva asked.

"To wipe up the drool from the pair of you," Tony shot back in disgust.

Julie and Ziva just grinned at him. "So we're enjoying the view; it's not like you don't do it to the female population," Ziva countered.

Gibbs and John came over and Gibbs said, "Okay, Julie, you are going with Burnham for a few hours. I don't care what you do or where you go but I don't want to see you back at NCIS until 2000; is that understood?"

"Understood, sir," Julie said.

"In the mean time, we head back and start working on getting Lt. Lawrence," Gibbs said. "Move out."

On the way back to NCIS, Tony asked Gibbs, "What did you say to Master Sergeant Burnham?"

"Told him to distract Suddth as much as possible and 'fess up about the dog tags," Gibbs said. He didn't mention that he had told Burnham that he, as a Marine, understood that they were good at laying their lives on the line for their loved ones but that laying their heart on the line was a different matter. However, if he didn't get his act together, Burnham was going to lose a good woman and right now Julie desperately needed someone to hold on to during this trying time. He had told Burnham that Julie had mentioned wanting him with her on several occasions and how her face had lit up when she had seen him at Rock Creek Park. Julie needed him to be what he was; not just a friend but someone who cared about her.

"Think he will?" Ziva asked.

"We'll find out tonight," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, when she shows up with her lipstick missing and a satisfied smile on her face," Tony smirked.

At NCIS Tim and Abby had worked out a plan.

"We strike at midnight," Tim said. "Stagging area is here," he indicated an area of warehouses, "we set cameras up here, here, and here," indicating three spots around to the staging area and a nearby pier, "Lt. Lawrence meets Lt. Suddth here," indicating an area near the piers, where the _USS Missouri _was currently sitting, "and we place speakers here, here, and here," here being posts and a building. "One of the lights will be rigged to explode and we'll have a second one on hand just in case. Abby is working on a special whisper soundtrack to make it sound like the whispers are coming from everywhere and nowhere."

"And the fog?" Ziva asked.

"I checked the weather forecast and I've got a fog machine on hand but I don't think we'll need it," Abby said, grinning broadly.

"All we need is Seaman Lindstrom to make a phone call to Lt. Lawrence and Agent Suddth to deck out in her sister's uniform," Tim continued. "For safety reasons I am strongly suggesting that Agent Suddth be fitted with a flak jacket."

"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" came Fornell's amused voice as he joined them.

"You want in, Tobias?" Gibbs asked.

"You know how you are when someone takes a shot at one of your agents?" Fornell asked.

"Yeah."

"Same thing," Fornell said. "I saw the report. You get the prick that shot at her?"

"We did and he confessed," Gibbs said. "We put out a BOLO for the car and found it right where dumbass said it was, complete with blood and shattered windows, thanks to our weapons."

"Anyone get nailed?" Fornell asked.

"Two of Bobby Soto's guys got grazed by our bullets," Gibbs said.

"And where is Julie?" Fornell asked.

"Taking a badly-needed time-out with a Marine who happens to be a friend of hers," Gibbs said. "He knows what's going on and he gave me his word he would keep her safe."

"Good. What can I do to help?" Fornell asked.

"You want in on the party?" Abby asked.

"Believe it," Fornell said.

"In that case, do you have any spare fog machines around?" Abby asked.

Fornell grinned.

The plan was to be at the docks approximately an hour before the designated time to give the team time to set things up. It was going to be a cold night so everyone was planning to dress warm but in dark clothes. The captain of the _Missouri_ would be warned about what was happening and would be asked to keep his people away from the pier until they had succeeded in their mission.

Seaman Lindstrom would be contacted and she would be told the truth about Lt. Suddth. If need be, she would be shown the body. Then, once she was convinced, she would be asked to call Lt. Lawrence and tell her that she wasn't going to do the lieutenant's dirty work and would take her chances with JAG, just as she had done once before. Just to really get the lieutenant's attention, Julie would call her and leave an equally threatening message on her cell, saying that she knew Lt. Lawrence wanted her dead and she wanted her dead so badly then to meet her at the pier and do it herself if she dared.

Seaman Lindstrom, already in the area pending the results of the NCIS investigation, arrived at NCIS promptly. She was placed in the conference room and met by Gibbs, Tony, and Fornell. Ziva, Tim, and Abby continued to work on the soundtrack.

"What can I do for you, sir?" the seaman asked.

"Seaman, I'm afraid we've been lying to you," Tony began, having established a rapport with her earlier. "The woman you spoke to yesterday, the one you believed was Lt. Suddth, that wasn't her."

Lindstrom looked at the three men, confusion etched on her face. "I don't understand, sir."

"Lt. Suddth was murdered three nights ago, Seaman," Gibbs said. "The woman you were talking to, that was FBI Agent Julie Suddth, her twin sister." He watched as Lindstrom's face went pale.

"If this is some kind of joke, sir, excuse me for saying so but it ain't funny!" she burst out.

The three men had been expecting this so Gibbs had brought along a certain photo of Julie and Debra Suddth. He brought this out and laid it on the table in front of Lindstrom. "Does it look like we're joking?" he asked gently.

Lindstrom picked up the photo and studied it. "Lt. Suddth is dead?" she asked sadly. "Did Bobby do it?"

All three men nodded. "He confessed and we not only found the gun but also the silencer and the car that was used in the drive-by shooting yesterday," Tony said. "We told you the truth about that one; it was Julie they were shooting at. No one was hurt, aside from two of Bobby's crew taking bullet grazes."

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Lindstrom whimpered, staring at the photo of the two laughing women. "I didn't trust Captain Lee enough to tell him what was going on. I trusted the wrong person and Lt. Suddth is dead because of me."

"I consider it a mitigating factor," Fornell admitted. "However, if you help us, we'll help you."

"What do you want me to do?" Lindstrom asked.

"We know who called you because we traced the number and that same person left a very pleasant message on your cell this morning," Gibbs said. "If we give you your cell back, will you call Lt. Lawrence and leave a certain message on her cell?"

"Hand over and tell me exactly what you want me to say," Lindstrom said determinedly, wiping her eyes free of tears. "I owe Lt. Suddth an' her sister an' I intend to make things right."

Gibbs laid her cell down on the table and Tony handed her a piece of paper with words written on it. Lindstrom studied the paper and nodded. "That bitch is gonna pay," she said, anger lacing her voice.

"Good, get angry," Tony coaxed. "She played you, played on your fears, and a good friend paid for that. Don't let her get away with that."

Eyes flashing in anger, Lindstrom snatched up her cell, punched in the number on the paper and waited. When she reached voice mail, she spoke. "Hey, Lieutenant, I know who you are and you don't scare me no more!" she began angrily. "I'm not doing your dirty work for you! You want Lt. Suddth dead so badly, you do it yourself! I'll get smart and take my chances with JAG and the captain and we'll see who they believe when I tell 'em the truth about you!" And she snapped her cell shut.

"Well done," Gibbs said.

"Thank you, sir," Lindstrom said. "I don't know how to tell Julie I'm so sorry about her sister. Lt. Suddth was good to me an' she didn't deserve this."

"No, she didn't," Gibbs said. "But you helping us like this will go a long way to making sure Lt. Lawrence doesn't get away with it."

"And if JAG decides to press charges against you, whatever they may be, we'll put in a good word for you, that you cooperated with us and assisted us as we asked," Tony said, meaning it.

"Thank you, sir," Lindstrom said. "Now what?"

"Now it's Julie's turn," Gibbs said.

"In the immortal words of one Jack Abramoff, you can't beat somebody with nobody," Tony said, grinning.

Fornell got out his cell and dialed the number for Julie's cell. When she answered, he said, "Suddth, write down this number." He rattled off the number to Lt. Lawrence's cell. "It's time for you to make a call to our fine lieutenant. Use a payphone to prevent her from being able to back-trace your number," he said.

"_Got it, boss_," Julie said. She could be heard talking to John and a moment later Fornell heard the familiar beeping noise of a payphone being dialed. A second later, Julie reached Lt. Lawrence's voice mail. "_Hey Birdie, I__ had a very pleasant chat with __a mutual fri__end of ours. Tsk, tsk, Birdie, tsk, tsk. You want me dead so badly, have the balls to do it yourself. You want me so badly, meet me at the pier where the Mighty Mo is docked at midnight or Major General Cressell will be taking a very hard look at you in__ the very near future and I don't think he's going to like what lands on his desk._" She hung up and John handed her back her cell. "_That do?_" she asked.

"Perfect," Fornell said, grinning.

"Let's go fishing, boys and girls!" Tony said, rubbing his hands eagerly.

Gibbs' cell rang. It was Ducky and he had some interesting information for him. Gibbs and Fornell headed down to the morgue.

"I do believe I may have solved your riddle," Ducky said, a file in front of him.

"Riddle?" Fornell asked, curious.

"Suddth stuck us with a riddle, claiming there were four differences between her and her sister," Gibbs explained sourly. "Said she would behave if I could solve the riddle."

Fornell grinned. "Okay."

"One was a title, two was the touch, three was a lifesaver, and four was the heart of the matter," Gibbs recited. "The first two we figured out; _Agent_ Julie Suddth and _Lieutenant_ Debra Suddth was the title. Fingerprints was the second one, thanks partially to the clue she gave us, saying that it was something we always leave behind."

"Makes sense," Fornell said, smirking.

"What? Don't tell me you know the answer to the other two," Gibbs said, glaring at his long-time nemesis-friend.

"Maybe I do, but I'm going to see what Ducky says first," Fornell said, grinning.

"It seems our young agent has a rather curious physical abnormality," Ducky began. "I had to check her medical records to find it but find it I did."

"Find what, Duck?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"Three years ago, Agent Suddth was shot in the chest, right about here," Ducky said, indicating the left side of his chest. "By rights she should have been dead."

"I remember that," Fornell said, scowling. "Bastard was using armor-piercing bullets. Killed two of our best agents and a SWAT officer before we could take him down."

"And Julie?" Gibbs asked.

"When they rushed her in to the operating room, the surgeons found a most curious thing; Agent Suddth's heart was on the _right_ side of her chest, not on the left, where it is most commonly located," Ducky said. "She has a condition known as _situs inversus totalis_."

"Her heart was on the right side?" Gibbs asked, confused. "How common is that?"

"Not very," Ducky said. "In fact, it's found in less than one out of every ten thousand."

Gibbs and Fornell's eyes went wide. "I knew her condition was rare but I didn't realize it was that rare," Fornell admitted.

"Oh yes," Ducky said. "According to her medical file, Julie's organs are mirror-reversed, affecting all her major organs. For example, her left lung is trilobed while her right lung is bilobed, when, in a normal human, it's the reverse. Her heart is on the right side and the same with her stomach and spleen. Even her liver and gall bladder have been reversed, being located on the left side, instead of the right. She is what is known as a mirrored twin."

"So when she took the bullet to the left side, where her heart should have been, she was saved because it wasn't there," Gibbs said, catching on. "Her condition saved her life."

"Yes, I spoke to her doctor and she has a tattoo of the astrological sign Gemini on her chest, above the actual location of her heart but, after her surgery, she had the words _Situs Inversus Totalis _tattooed underneath, along with a medical alert symbol," Ducky said. "It seems our young agent had inquired to the doctor as to whether or not medical personnel would recognize and respond to that warning if she was injured and unable to communicate, and he assured her they would. In fact, he encouraged the tattoo to be done."

"So the answer to the third riddle is the fact that Suddth's heart is on the right side of her chest, rather than the left," Gibbs said.

"Yes, and I do believe it also answers the fourth riddle," Ducky said. "If Lt. Suddth's tattoo is above her heart, and Agent Suddth's tattoo is above hers, then the difference is the location of the tattoos, the astrological sign of Gemini, also known as the Twins." He smiled and continued. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the heart of the matter? That Julie and Debra are twins? And that you didn't know who had been the intended target?"

Fornell smirked. "We do now," he said.

"Did you know about the organ reversal thingie?" Gibbs asked him.

"Who do you think was there when she took the hit?" Fornell said.

"And you didn't say anything, why?" Gibbs asked.

"And spoil my fun?" Fornell replied, still smirking. "I don't get enough of that as it is."

After talking to Fornell and wandering around Washington for a while, at one point stopping at a restaurant to eat, they rented a movie and ended up back at Quantico at John's apartment. It was a familiar place for Julie, having stayed there for a while when she was struggling to deal with the Daniels case last year.

They wound up on the couch, sharing a bowl of popcorn and a can of pop. As they watched the latest installment of Tom Selleck's _Jesse Stone_ movies, Julie casually brought up the dog tags.

"I was told that the Chinese symbols on them actually mean _I love you_," Julie said.

John froze, remembering what Gibbs had told him. Julie knew and she was calling on it. She looked at him and raised one eyebrow. "Is it true?" she asked.

He gulped nervously, and started sweating. He had never been this nervous, not even during his first day on the firing line during his first tour of Iraq. But he remembered what Gibbs said, and nodded, and she studied him for long moment, fiddling with the tags. "How about I go get us another drink?" he suggested, desperate to break the awkwardness.

"Screw the drink. I've got a better idea, bucko," Julie shot back. "How about you just bloody well kiss me?"

John looked at her and debated with himself for a second, but just a second, before giving in and doing exactly what he'd wanted to do for a while. His hand shot out and he grabbed her by the back of the head, holding her in place, before clamping his mouth down firmly on hers. There was a slight gasp of shock and she froze for a moment but then she was kissing him back. Not only that, but she was in his arms and she felt good, so good.

_Screw the fantasies,_ he thought hazily as he shifted slightly and pulled her on top of him on the couch. _This is way better._

When Julie emerged from the elevators at NCIS at the appointed time, she was missing her lipgloss, her lips were looking a little raw, her ponytail was tousled, and she had a satisfied gleam in her eyes, one she couldn't quite conceal.

"Have fun at the movies?" Tony asked, smirking as she joined them at their desks and the plasma, next to Fornell, Tim, Abby, Gibbs, and Ziva.

"Shut up, DiNozzo," Julie shot back. Gibbs just looked at her and grinned, not saying a word. Julie ignored him. "Where are we, what are we doing, and how are we going to do it?" she asked.

But Tony couldn't shut up. "Y'know, your lips are looking a bit swollen. Are you okay?" he asked innocently. "I could get you some ice if you'd like but I'm afraid you might melt it from all the heat you're giving off." He smirked.

"You want a fat lip to go with your fat mouth?" Julie threatened.

"Play nice, kids," Fornell said.

"Oh, by the way, I hear your organs are opposite of each other," Tony said, pushing his luck. "I have to ask; does that include your state of mind?"

"Stuff it, DiNozzo, before I stuff my fist in your mouth," Julie warned.

"Hey, don't flip out," Tony said, grinning even wider. "Oh wait, you did that already." He grunted when Gibbs' hand shot out and smacked him on the back of the head. "Sorry boss," he said, glaring at Ziva when she sniggered. Abby and Tim grinned and so did Fornell.

"Less with the flipping wisecracks and more with the paying attention," Gibbs said. "Julie, you can deck him later but I need him for the operation first."

"Darn," Julie quipped while Tony stared at his boss, wide-eyed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was a clear night but it was bone-chillingly cold and Julie was so glad she was wearing pants instead of a skirt and thermal undergarments under the Navy blue dress uniform, along with a flak jacket. She was also wearing the standard Navy pea coat, made of heavy wool, thank the Lord, gloves, dark blue scarf tucked under the coat, Navy women's officer's hat, and her gun. Her hair was in an appropriate Navy-reg twist at the nape of her neck and she had an earwig in her ear as well as a two-way radio clipped to her coat where it wasn't easily visible.

The plan, which Director Vance had reluctantly agreed to, was to force Lt. Lawrence to admit she tried to have Lt. Suddth killed. They would achieve that by making it appear as if Lt. Suddth had not been killed and was, in fact, very much alive, along with her sister. However, since only one Suddth sister was actually alive, that was where the fog and the whisper track came in. Just to really crank things up, one of the lights had been rigged to explode via remote. Ziva and Abby, both wearing blonde wigs, Navy hat, and matching coats and pants, would use the fog to create the impression that there was more than one person there. All three women were wearing flak jackets and everyone, including Fornell, was wearing a two-way ear radio and tagged with a GPS locator. Tim was in the mobile command station van, monitoring the situation, sound, and video coming from several well-placed mics and cameras.

"Boss, _Missouri_ says there's a thick fog bank coming our way," Tim suddenly reported. They had been in contact with the ship, partially as a second set of eyes and partially as their weather radar because, as Abby had rightly pointed out, foul weather could really foul things up real fast and that was the last thing anyone wanted.

"Good, we could use it," Fornell said.

"Everyone in position?" Gibbs asked.

"In position, boss," Tony said.

"Ready, Gibbs," Abby said.

"Ready," Julie said.

"In position," Ziva said.

"Now just hope the target shows up," Gibbs said.

"Speak of the devil," Tim said. "We've got movement headed your way." A moment later he reported, "It's Lt. Lawrence."

"Julie, no matter what you do, stick to the plan," Gibbs hissed.

"Yes, sir," Julie said.

Julie would show herself near their position and draw Lt. Lawrence towards the center stage, so to speak.

"Go," Tim said.

She stepped out from the shadows and Lawrence quickly spotted her, wearing a pea coat and her uniform as well. The two women looked at each other silently, long enough for Lawrence to get a good look at her, and then Julie moved down the dock.

"I'm here, Suddth! What the hell do you want?" Lawrence demanded, following her.

Julie didn't answer, determined to keep the prescribed distance between them. "Roll fog," she mumbled.

"Rolling," Tim said, activating the wireless remotes to the fog machines.

Artificial fog began to pour slowly across the docks and Julie suddenly side-stepped in to the shadows at the prescribed spot.

"Suddth! Suddth, where the hell did you go?" Lawrence demanded.

The fog was really starting to get thick and Gibbs said, "Sound track."

"Sound track activated," Tim said, cuing the track.

The whispers started. "_Birdie... I'm over here, Birdie.... I can see you, Birdie.... can you see me?_"

"Abby," Gibbs said.

Abby moved from her spot and walked quickly across the dock, head down, to the other spot.

"Wait! Suddth, what the hell are you playing at?" Lawrence demanded, trying to keep up. "This isn't funny!"

"Boss, _Missouri_ says the fog bank is heading our way, hard and fast; we should be seeing it in less than a minute," Tim reported.

"Understood, McGee," Gibbs said. "Ziva, go."

Ziva moved from her position and walked steadily towards where Julie was hiding. Then Julie stood up and said, "You think this is a game, Birdie? You tried to kill me. You tried to kill my sister. Bad idea, Birdie." And she moved back in to the shadows, less than a foot away from Ziva.

Then the fog bank hit; fog didn't so much as come off the ocean as it poured off in thick waves higher than Gibbs or Tony.

"Wow!" Abby breathed, watching as the fog suddenly obscured everyone and everything around them.

"Cue the light," Gibbs said.

"Cuing," Tim said. One of the lights bordering the dock suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks, throwing dark shadows further around the dock. Lawrence jumped, shrieking in surprise and then there was silence. Nearby, the Missouri creaked quietly on the waves, adding to the eeriness of the scene.

"_Birdie.... over here, Birdie_," the track whispered.

Lawrence spun around, searching for the voice but to no avail.

"Abby," Gibbs said. Abby stood up and Lawrence spun towards her, wide-eyed. Abby moved towards Ziva and rapidly vanished in the shadows.

"This is seriously creepy fog," Tony mumbled.

"Ditto," Abby mumbled.

Indeed, the fog seemed to be moving of its own violation and Julie could have sworn there was a glow to the fog.

"What do you want?" Lawrence suddenly said. There was no answer but Lawrence, as if hearing something no one else could, protested, "I didn't kill you!" Then, in a cold voice, she said, "But I can fix that, you miserable bitch."

"Who the hell is she talking to?" Julie hissed to Ziva, who shrugged in confusion, watching the unfolding scene. Julie was about to step out from her hiding place when Lawrence suddenly pulled out a gun and fired. As she did, however, the fog shifted, obscuring her from view.

Abby yelped in fear and Lawrence spun around, gun at the ready and fear on her face. The fog shifted again, moving like a dancer and a shadow passed over Lawrence. She spun around again and demanded, "Who's there?"

"No one move," Gibbs hissed.

"Come out, Suddth, wherever you are!" Lawrence demanded.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony hissed, not liking the developing situation at all.

"Damned if I know," Fornell said in a low voice.

"This fog is really acting weird," Julie whispered.

"You're not kidding," Tim reported. "Just spoke to the radar operator on the _Missouri_, who said the fog is acting like nothing he'd ever seen before; said it's moving _against_ the wind."

"That's not possible," Fornell said. "Fog doesn't do that."

"Could their radars be wrong?" Abby asked tentatively.

"I asked them that and they said they double and even triple-checked their equipment," Tim said. "Something is going on out there."

"And I'm not so sure I like it," Tony mumbled.

"Suddth, come out, you bitch! Stop playing games with me!" Lawrence yelled, waving her gun around.

Suddenly she froze as she spotted something again. Gibbs spotted it too and he started mentally swearing. It was Julie Suddth and she was less than a foot away from Lawrence, hand raised and pointing an accusing finger at her sister's murderer. She appeared to be saying something but he couldn't hear it on the radio. Lawrence suddenly raised her weapon and fired three shots directly at Julie. As she did, the fog moved again and Julie vanished from sight.

That was when Gibbs decided it was game over.

"Lieutenant Lawrence, NCIS! Drop your weapon!" Gibbs yelled, suddenly popping out from his position, gun aimed square at the lieutenant. As he yelled, Fornell, Ziva, Tony, and Julie popped out, weapons at the ready. Julie, Gibbs noticed, was now near Ziva. Abby was following the plan and keeping her head down.

"It's over, lieutenant!" Tony called. "You're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, and stealing evidence from NCIS."

Lawrence stared at Julie, wide-eyed and screamed, "No! Die, you bitch! _Die!_" She brought her gun up, ready to fire, and everyone instinctively fired their own weapon. Lawrence jerked as multiple bullets slammed in to her body; she was dead before she hit the ground.

"Damn it," Tony hissed in frustration. "I hate it when that happens."

"Ditto," Julie said, cautiously approaching the body. Ziva was right beside her, weapon aimed. Once close enough, she kicked the gun away.

"Coroner is on it's way, boss," Tim reported solemnly a moment later.

As the team gathered by the van, Gibbs turned on Julie. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he demanded. "I told you to stick to the plan and do not confront Lt. Lawrence at all! You're lucky she missed you when she shot at you! Are you so eager to join your sister?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Julie demanded, confused. "I was nowhere near Lawrence!"

"Well somebody sure as hell was and she looked exactly like you!" Gibbs snapped. "I'd like to know how the hell you moved so fast!"

"Boss, I don't know what you saw, but that was not Julie; she was nowhere near Lt. Lawrence when she started shooting, not for what you just saw," Tim said, studying his screens carefully. "GPS is confirming it."

"I know what I saw!" Gibbs snapped.

"Well, it wasn't me!" Julie shot back. "I haven't approached Lawrence at all! I've been sticking to the damn play from the first page!"

"She's telling the truth, Gibbs," Ziva said. "She was less than a foot away from me when you reported the sighting."

"Then what the hell did I see?" Gibbs demanded.

"I don't know but I saw it too," Fornell admitted.

"So did I," Abby confessed. "Or rather, I saw something."

"What do you mean you saw something?" Gibbs demanded impatiently.

"I don't know," Abby admitted reluctantly. "It looked human, or at least it had a human form, but it didn't look solid. I know I heard Lt. Lawrence talking to it though. And then she shot at it, like she was really, really afraid of it."

"I heard what sounded like whispers," Fornell admitted. "Something that wasn't part of the sound track."

Mimicking Stevie Wayne from the 1980 _The _Fog movie, Tony said mock-hysterically, "There's something in the fog!"

"McGee!" Gibbs snapped.

"Running the video now, boss," Tim said absently.

"He's got that 'What the heck?' look on his face again," Abby said. "Need any help, Timmy?"

"Ah, yeah, please," Tim said, still staring at the screen. "Boss, we've got a three hour trip back to Norfolk."

"So?" Gibbs snapped impatiently.

"So, by the time we get back, with Abby's help, I should be able to tell you what we saw," Tim explained patiently.

"So do so!" Gibbs snapped, clearly frustrated by the situation. "Everyone else..."

"Wrapping things up, boss," Tony said, snagging the forensic gear from the van. "Ziva, you snap, I shoot. We've got ourselves a new crime scene."

"Fair enough," Ziva said, reaching for the camera.

"I'll start getting the gear put away," Fornell said, reaching for the tools.

Abby hopped in to the truck, parking herself beside Tim, eyes already glued to the screen.

Gibbs turned to Julie but before he could speak, she did. "I don't know what the hell happened out there, Gibbs, but I give you my word, one agent to another, whatever it was you saw, that was not me. I swear it."

Gibbs sighed heavily. "If it wasn't you and it wasn't Abby or Ziva, then who the hell was it?"

"I don't know. Maybe it really was Debbie or maybe it was one of the ghosts from the 1943 explosion taking pity on us and giving us a hand," Julie said. "Only one woman died in that explosion but that doesn't mean that other women haven't died around here. Remember, this base has been open since 1917 but there was a Jamestown expedition on this site before that."

"I don't believe in ghosts," Gibbs said impatiently.

"I'm not saying I do either," Julie pointed out, shivering as the wind shifted slightly, bringing a cold breeze in from the ocean, "but I do believe that certain events can leave a psychical scar on the land. That's why a lot of people get the jeepers around a lot of the major battle fields and most of 'em don't believe in ghosts."

"What the hell is going on here?" Gibbs demanded impatiently, yanking his hat off and running his hand through his hair before yanking it back on. "First this damn fog, then Lawrence freaking out at someone else no one else seems to have seen, and now this weird disappearing act."

"Let's see what the video and the audio recordings tell us," Julie soothed.

Gibbs sighed heavily and then said, "Fine, but if that damn equipment screws up our confession, I will beat somebody with it."

"Fair enough," Julie said. "Now, can we hurry up and get the heck out of here? I'm freezing in places I didn't know I could freeze!"

"The faster you move the faster we can get coffee," Gibbs said, smirking at her. "You should have worn thermal undergarments."

"What makes you think I'm not?" Julie yelped indignantly.

Curiously, the fog bank retreated as quickly as it had arrived, as if the ocean were sucking it away. A moment later, the _Missouri_ reported that the fog bank had vanished off the radar completely.

It was nearly an hour before they could leave the station and on the way back, Julie fell asleep. Tony was busy making smartass remarks with Ziva about her blonde wig, while Gibbs drove back with Fornell riding shotgun. Meanwhile, Tim and Abby were busy working on the video. Then Gibbs ears caught something; the sound of a female whimpering softly.

"DiNozzo, what's going on back there?" Gibbs asked.

"Not us, boss," Tony replied.

"Wait," Ziva said, looking at Julie, who was curled up in a corner, hands tucked under her arms. As she watched, a tear slowly slid down the woman's face.

"_Lizzy_," Julie whimpered sadly, "_Lizzy, please don't go. I can't do this alone_."

"It's Julie, boss," Tony reported quietly. "She's talking in her sleep."

Ziva stood up carefully and moved to the supply cabinet, taking out a large wool blanket. As he watched, she carefully covered up the younger woman, tucking the blanket around her.

"She's grieving," Ziva said.

"Do you think maybe her sister came back for a moment?" Tony asked.

"I don't believe in ghosts," Gibbs said. Then he paused and admitted, "But anything's possible."

Several thousand miles away, quietly cutting through the Mediterranean Sea, the _Abraham Lincoln_ made her way through the ocean, a silent giant in the middle of an expansive ocean. In his quarters, Captain Gordon Stone slept restlessly, one arm flung over his head.

On the brig, the watch officer, Bryson, was studying the horizon when a junior officer approached him. "Sir," the officer said as he came up to him, "radar is showing something unusual on the screen."

"Unusual how?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Radar says we have a fog bank heading our way but the local weather stations aren't reporting anything," the officer said.

"Which direction?" asked Bryson

"Coming in from the west, sir."

Bryson reached for a pair of binoculars and checked out the west horizon. His brow furrowed; a fog bank was indeed coming towards them, fast. "Okay, warn the crew to keep an eye on the fog and prepare to batten down the hatches; I don't want anyone accidentally falling off the ship because they can't see where they're going in the fog," he said. "If it gets worse, I'll let the captain know."

"Aye aye sir," the officer said, moving off to carry out his orders.

Approximately five minutes later, the fog bank reached the ship and engulfed it completely. Bryson had the control room extend their radar as far as they could and send out a warning message to any ships in the area, warning them of the fog. It was so thick, Bryson could have sworn one could have cut the fog with a knife. All they could do was wait it out.

In Captain Stone's quarters, the window was open and the fog slowly poured in to the room. He stirred, then called out. "_Debbie! Debbie, don't go!_" He quieted as the fog seemed to caress him, much like a lover. If anyone had been watching him, they would have noticed a smile coming to his face. A moment later, he sighed quietly and shifted to a more comfortable position, sliding in to the first real deep sleep he'd had since Agent Julie Suddth had contacted him and told him about Debra's death.

As quietly as the fog had arrived, it left, leaving no trace either on the radar or anywhere else that the fog had even been there. As for Captain Stone, the next time his watch officer saw him, he looked more rested and more at peace than he had been since he had taken that call from NCIS in Washington, DC.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Final chapter in this story. Thanks for your kind reviews and patience. Be sure to look for future NCIS stories :D

**Chapter 15**

It was over. Finally.

Lt. Bernadette Lawerence was dead, shot in self-defense by NCIS when she turned her weapon on them during a sting. Both JAG and Vance had accepted the video, which had been carefully scrutinized by Tim and Abby. They had not been able to determine what exactly it was that Lt. Lawrence had seen or heard, only that she had and she had fired her weapon as a result. The official conclusion was that the fog had been playing games with Lt. Lawrence's rage-filled mind. The photos and files Gibbs and his team had found at Lt. Lawrence's apartment had confirmed she had been bitterly jealous of Lt. Suddth to the point she had methodically planned and executed the lieutenant's murder.

Bobby Soto was being charged with murder and possession of a stolen weapon. The ADA had assured NCIS that Bobby would not be seeing the outside of a prison wall for quite some time.

Seaman Lindstrom was being charged with possession of a stolen weapon but Commander Roberts had promised Julie and Gibbs that JAG would be going easy on her due to her cooperation with NCIS.

Fornell had spoken to the FBI director on Julie's behalf in regards to the assault of Adam McIver. The upshot of it was Julie would be put on suspension but it was also being treated as bereavement leave and she would have full access to a counselor over the next several weeks. The assault would have to go on her record but so would a note about the circumstances surrounding the assault and her sister's death. During her time off, she would bury her sister and try to come to grips with things. She would also work on her relationship with John Burnham, see where things went.

Lt. Debra Suddth wouldn't be buried in Arlington Cemetery; instead, she would be laid to rest beside their mother, Anna Suddth, who had died when the girls had been eighteen as a result of a vehicle accident on a slippery road, and their father, Don, who had passed away after a heart attack five years ago.

"One thing I don't understand," Gibbs said later to Julie as they left the cemetery. "Why did you call your sister Lizzy?" Out of respect for both Debra and Julie, he had attended the service.

Julie, who was walking arm in arm with John, admitted, "It was a nick-name. There used to be a series called _Sweet Valley High_, about two blonde twins, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield."

"Okay," Gibbs said.

"In the series, Jessica was the boy-crazy, fashion-conscious twin who was on the cheerleading squad in high school," Julie explained. "She'd rather be partying than studying and it was guaranteed she'd have a new boyfriend every week and a new crush every other week. Elizabeth was the exact opposite, preferring jeans and a tee, on the school newspaper, and had one steady boyfriend through much of high school."

"Who was who?" Gibbs asked. Then he thought about what Julie had just said. "Never mind. Debra was Lizzy and you must've been Jess," he said.

She nodded. "I was pretty boy-crazy in high school but that eased off over the years," she admitted. "Mind you, the reason why I chose the FBI instead of Navy or JAG was because I enjoyed the thrill of the chase, except I wasn't chasing after boys but after bad guys. Decided that was more fun."

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

She sighed heavily. "Take my time. See what happens." She bumped her head against John's shoulder and said, "See how things go with him and me."

"Good place to start," Gibbs said. "Ever think about joining NCIS?"

Julie laughed. "Normally I'd seriously consider it, especially after working with you guys, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea. For starters, I'd probably slug DiNozzo within a week, two at the latest, and you'd probably try and head slap me, only to find yourself on the floor and me in front of Director Vance explaining why I belted my supervisor."

_She would_, Gibbs thought, seeing the gleam in Julie's eyes. He chuckled and said, "Offer's always open. I wouldn't mind seeing you deck DiNozzo, though."

"Someone's going to one day," Julie said.

"I think that honor belongs to either Ziva, McGee, or Abby," Gibbs said.

"What about you, sir?" John asked.

"I'm afraid if I do he'll lose what little brain he has left," Gibbs confessed. "He's a pain in the ass but he's my pain in the ass."

Julie and John chuckled. "I think Tobias feels the same way about me," she admitted.

"He's fond of you in his own way," Gibbs admitted. "After all, he did stick up for you in regards to the assault on Adam McIver."

"True," Julie said.

"How's it going with Erica McIver?" Gibbs asked.

"We did a massive Girls Day Out shopping trip on Saturday. She seems to be doing okay but time will tell," Julie said. "Her mom wasn't too happy to see me but she's undergoing counseling and Adam is currently sitting in a jail cell awaiting trial."

They were at their respective vehicles and Gibbs studied Julie for a moment then said, "C'mere." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too," she said. "If you ever need a contact inside the FBI, other than Tobias, call me. I'll make no promises but I'll do what I can to help."

"Appreciate that."

"Oh, and Gibbs?" Julie called, a mischievous grin on her face, as he headed for his car.

"Yeah?"

"Tony may kill me yet but he's got to catch me first," she said.

"What did you do?" Gibbs asked.

Julie just smiled and ducked in to her car.

The next day at NCIS things returned to normal, more or less. When Gibbs came in with his customary mug of coffee, his team was at their desk, working on either their computer or paperwork.

"Hey boss, parcel came in for you," Tony said, indicating a package on Gibbs' desk. He was working on a parcel of his own.

Gibbs nodded and was about to open it when the box Tony was opening suddenly exploded in a shower of confetti, streamers, rubber snakes, and rubber spiders, causing Tony to yell in surprise. Gibbs just looked at him and said, "Well, she did say you might kill her yet."

"Julie Suddth," Tony muttered, brushing the streamers and confetti off of him. "Har, har, har." His phone rang and he answered it, tossing the box in the garbage. "Special Agent Tony DiNozzo."

Gibbs was opening the parcel, which turned out to be a large white coffee mug with a Garfield comic strip on the mug. The first panel showed Odie sniffing then taking a sip of coffee. The third and final panel, which had Gibbs chuckling, showed a very wired Odie and Garfield, who was grinning, saying, "_Good stuff, ain't it?_" Realizing who it was from, he decided the mug was going on his desk, possibly for his pens and pencils.

Tony, who was on the phone, picked up a pen from his desk, clicked it, and suddenly yelled, nearly coming out of his chair in the process. Gibbs who had been taking a mouthful of his coffee, nearly choked on it. Both Tim and Ziva jumped and several agents snapped their heads towards Tony, staring.

"Now what?" Gibbs snapped impatiently.

"My pen just zapped me!" Tony yelped indignantly, shaking a now stinging hand.

Tim grinned at him and said, "Gee, what a shock."

"Julie strikes again," Ziva said, laughing.

Tony glared and swore, "I am going to get her!"

"Good luck with that," Ziva said, grinning widely.

"Why didn't she do that to you?" Tony demanded.

"Maybe because we were nice to her," Tim said, smiling. Then he grinned at Ziva and asked innocently, "I wonder if he knows about the shaving gel?"

"Shaving gel?" Tony asked suspiciously.

"Well, Julie told us you could freeze shaving gel and remove the bottom from the can and put it somewhere," Ziva said innocently.

"Oh god," Gibbs groaned, seeing where this was going.

"It seems the last time she did something like that, she put it in someone's car," Ziva continued. "When the gel melts, apparently it gets quite messy."

"She wouldn't," Tony said, eyes going wide.

"I don't know," Tim said, but I did hear her asking Abby about where you park your car...."

"Not my car!" Tony yelped, suddenly taking off for the elevator.

"When was that?" Gibbs asked, curious.

"An hour ago... and his car is parked in the sun," Tim said, grinning widely.

"He's going to kill her," was all Gibbs said.

A minute later, Tim's phone rang. Seeing the number, he hit the speaker button and said, "McGee."

"_Julie Suddth is dead!_" Tony shouted loud enough for Gibbs and Ziva to hear.

Tim just grinned and hit the off button. "He found it."

The End:D


End file.
